Never Alone
by madnarutofan
Summary: At the age of seven Naruto becomes aware of Kyubi. Finding solace in each other's company, bonds are made and the future changes.In the end, the world of the ninja will be shaken to its core. KyubiNaru female Kyubi
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING ASSOCIIATED WITH NARUTO

'never alone'

For seven years of his life he had wondered why he was hated, why 'they' always glared at him, why he had no parents, why no one would ever help him let alone talk to him. For seven years Uzumaki Naruto wondered why he was different and why he had no one there for him. For seven years he wondered why he couldn't have a friend or any form of companionship. For seven years he wondered why he was alone. For seven years, to him as long as he could remember being alive, he had cried himself to sleep at night. For seven years he longed for what he knew he would never have. For seven years he thought this way….and then he learned that he was never alone.

It was on a sunny day in Konoha that a young and optimistic Uzumaki Naruto found himself wandering the back alleys and lesser known shops of the Hidden Village of the Leaf. Smiling to himself despite the glares and occasionally curses that followed his wake, Naruto looked into the large windows of the shops. Oh it wasn't that he didn't notice the looks and comments…it was just that he'd become used to them. After all, a lifetime of malice does that to someone. Reminiscing, he stopped in front of one particular weapon's shop. He could recall having entered the shop at one time or another , careful always to sneak in unnoticed. 'Oh yeah, I remember looking in there. They had those awesome shinobi weapons. What are they called? Kunai? Yeah! That's it! Kunai. Someday, when I become Hokage maybe they'll have to actually let me in there. Then again, when I become a genin I'll need them so maybe they'll have to let me in. What was the name of the girl that lives there…..Ten...ten. Yeah, Tenten. I guess it doesn't matter though… Her parents never let me get near her. They call me monster and demon just like all the others and then run off….Her dad even threw that brick at me. Damn that hurt too. I just wish I knew why they do that. I ...I don't remember doing anything to them...I apologized too just like Ji-san said and they just got even angrier...I just don't understand…the old man always said to apologize when we make mistakes...but whenever I do it...it just makes it worse… 'sigh' I wonder if I'll ever have a friend…or…if I...if I'll always be...alone'.

Taking a moment to slip into depression Naruto stared at his reflection in the window. 'Why am I the only one with these whicker marks? Is it one of those bloodsomethings? I remember seeing that girl at the park with the white eyes and somebody saying something about it…then again there was that other kid with black hair . They said he had one of those things too but he looked normal. What was it? Uch ..ee something? I guess it doesn't matter. Even if I did have one I wouldn't have a fam..OUCH!'

His train of thought broken by the white he was seeing and the sense of dizziness worsening from a blow to the head, Naruto looked up to find Tenten's father outside his shop and wielding some sort of clublike object in his hand. Apparently, Naruto realized, he had angered the man by lingering too long in front of his storefront window and too lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice the man's approach.

" What the hell did I tell you last time demon! Get the hell away from my store, my family, and my home. I don't want your filthy face around here ever again. If I ever even see you around here again, so help me I'll KILL YOU!" With that said and a shocked Naruto already nearly in tears the man began throttling Naruto over head. As blow after blow rained down on his small body and his raised arms Naruto couldn't help but cry and ponder what he'd done to deserve such a thing. Soon enough the abuse and agony proved far too much for the child and as his bones finally cracked and his blood ran free. He slipped into unconsciousness.

It wasn't until much later in the day that young Naruto awoke. Finally coming to after the assault the young child screamed out in horror. It wasn't until after five minutes passed of him being once more in his protective ball and shaking hoping the blows would stop that he finally extended himself and dared to stand. It was only then that he noticed he had been tossed into a dumpster. Wincing, he realized that once again his fingers on both hands and at least one arm were broken.' Why, why do they always do this to me?' he asked himself. It seemed one of the favorite targets of his assailants were his fingers...'They' loved to break them…to…to crush them… to… Fighting back tears, he forced the memories of his repeated torture to subside. Luckily, this attacker hadn't taken the time to engage in the 'pleasure' so many others seemed to enjoy at his expense. This time he had been lucky, his wounds were simply the result of a brutal beating rather than….

After once again shedding some tears, he pulled himself together and forced his smile back on his face. It was hard, especially for a child that had never felt love, to try and maintain such an image, but he had found that showing his pain only egged them on more. The more cheerful, the more …happy … he seemed the less the beatings came and surprisingly, the less they hurt. He supposed that after awhile, having forced himself to ignore the emotional pain they all caused, the physical pain wouldn't come to hurt as much either. Quickly checking his person over he realized that other than his new bruises and broken bones he was mostly alright. Once again he was lucky. Others had taken the initiative in ripping his clothing, shoes, or other coverings after realizing that there was no way for him to ever replace them or even have them repaired for that matter. During the cold winters in Fire country that had contributed to his misery greatly. At one time, it hadn't been that bad. He had had the orphanage and granted, the staff and attendants had loathed him, but at least it had been warm. Then again, his last year there they had simply handed out thick blankets to all the other children except for him during winter and had left the heat off. Even then it wasn't all THAT bad. He still had a cover or rather, a sheet. It wasn't until his cover had mysteriously disappeared and he had been forbidden from eating any of the orphanage's food that it had become unbearable. With starvation motivating him he had made plans to leave. Not that it mattered anyway; before he even had a chance to gather what few things he had he'd been grabbed and literally thrown out onto the streets to die in the middle of a freak blizzard. Luckily, the old man Hokage had found his shivering form in a cardboard box in an alleyway. It was after that that things had finally started looking up. He'd discovered his ambition of becoming Hokage and becoming accepted He'd also been given a small apartment, clothes, and even a little money for food from the old man. It was great not having to eat garbage anymore though the only thing he could buy enough of to fill himself was ramen. But hey, after garbage, it was the best meal ever and the people there didn't seem to mind him as much.

Coming back to the matter at hand Naruto realized he needed to make his way back home to nurse his wounds. In reality Naruto understood that he needed to go to the hospital but having already visited there he realized it just wasn't an option. The first time he'd sought help and healing at the hospital it had earned him another broken limb, several bruises, and some nasty scrapes. It seemed that even people sworn to do no harm looked the other way when he was involved. That fact became obvious when he had been flatly turned down and flung out through a glass door with the excuse that they 'didn't treat demons'. His second visit hadn't been much better. After one of his worse beating an torture sessions via the villagers the Hokage had taken him there. The only reason they did anything for him anyways was because the old man had threatened. Even then their 'care' had hurt him more than it had helped. Really, what would you call having needleds jammed in and out of your arms and veins. Helpful?

Sighing to himself and limping off to his apartment Naruto realized it didn't really matter anyway. It would all be healed by the next morning after all. Scrapes, cuts, burns, broken bones, stab wounds. It didn't matter. It would always be healed by the next day. He never told anyone, even the old man, but occasionally he would wake up in the middle of the night when his more severe injuries were healing. He'd see a red glow around his body and then a warm heating feeling would pass through him and the wounds would be gone. At first, it had scared him badly but eventually he took comfort in the feeling. For some reason it always made him feel….like someone was there, someone who cared about him. He knew there was no one. That he was alone but still…he liked to tell himself that maybe…that maybe there WAS someone out there that might care about him.

Afterall, the only other time he felt safe like that was whenever the old man Hokage was around. Thinking on this Naruto found himself wishing the old man was around more often. Maybe then he wouldn't be so used to broken fingers and the taste of his own blood… He knew the old man felt bad about him whenever he saw him. He could see it in his eyes, but they never said anything about it. He knew the old man knew about what happened to him. He'd often see different people more restrained, looking sometimes even injured, after they'd done something to him and they'd been talked to by the old man or one of his scary friends with masks…ANBU they were called. There was actually one of them that didn't even seem that bad. He didn't like him. Naruto could tell that much. But he didn't seem to ooze hatred like the others either… it was more like he was just bored...or wanted to be off doing something else all the time…who knows? What would some creepy guy with a wolf mask and Grayish hair do anyway?

Finally turning the last corner, Naruto let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He was just a small distance away from relative safety and a measure of comfort. He had been extra careful today when he ventured out and he still was beaten. Ji-san had warned him that he would be out of town for awhile and that he wouldn't be able to look in on him for at least a week or so. Not that it would've stopped the beating to day if he had been there…but his presence did deal with…larger threats. Mainly, the mobs that would occasionally stalk him, encircle him, and then attempt to butcher him. Many of his …worst memories stemmed from these encounters. On each occasion it was only the presence of the old man Hokage that had saved him from a grizzly death. The old man had tried to play it down on him to stave off the harsh reality that no seven year old should be met with but he knew better. He knew what they were there for. Sometimes, in his darkest moments, he wished they had succeeded. At least then, when he thought like that, it would be over. Shirking off his negative thoughts with a shake of his head Naruto returned to his thoughts on the old man

" _Remember Naruto-kun . I won't be here for awhile. You know that there are many …people that are… not fond of you." The Hokage made smiled grimly " Don't give them a reason or an opportunity to harm you."_

"_Don't worry old man; I won't let them get a hold of me. After all, what kind of Hokage would I make if I'm all busted up permanently! "_

"_Please Naruto-kun.."_

"_Hey I said don't worry" Naruto flashed his trademark foxy grin " They don't have a chance against the great Uzumaki Naruto!"_

'Yeah, they don't have a change against me….right' Naruto grimaced as he cradled his arm. 'Oh well,' he mused 'At least I got home after a little ramen and there's not even a mob'. When getting ready to step out of the alley and into the open areas in front of his apartment he suddenly stopped. Something was ...wrong. Taking the time to slip into the shadows, Naruto hid himself. Silently, he was grateful that he hadn't bought the orange jumpsuit that he had been looking at for when he started the academy. For once, he felt the dire need to not be noticed. Seconds later his gut instinct were proven right as not just a mob but multiple mobs erupted out of every entrance and exit to his apartment building. Squeezing himself into as small a ball as possible Naruto slowly covered himself with whatever trash he could find. A bag. A box lid. It didn't matter. Making a small hole in his multi-layer camouflage Naruto watched as the villagers stormed into his apartment in throngs. He had no doubt in his mind whatsoever what they were there for…


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO, JUST MY ORIGINAL CONCEPTS (when they show up) AND IF I SEE YOU USIN' EM' IM A' GONNA COME FIND YOU AN' SMASH YA' KNEE IN! YOU HEAR ME!

(how's that for a disclaimer? Maybe I should include a medical one should anyone cross me and the law becomes involved)

'never alone'

CHAPTER 2……ok…more like 1 and 1/2

Sitting up and wiping the sleep from his eyes, Uzumaki Naruto awoke to the world. Looking around, he found himself in what appeared to be a long, dark corridor that had, to his dismay, seemingly horrible plumbing. That reasoning of course coming from the fact that our young hero was sitting in no less than a foot of water and was now sopping wet. Naturally, of course, Naruto voiced his disress. " NANI? WHAT THE HELL? WHERE AM I? HOW THE HELL DID I GET HERE!"

Abruptly standing up and putting himself on guard Naruto prepared himself for the worse. After remaining tense for a few moments he calmed down and took the time to examine himself. After a once over, Naruto noticed that all of his wounds were healed. ' I guess that funny light thing worked again.' sigh ' That's the only time the really bad wounds heal this fast. I wish I knew what the hell caused it. Maybe it could help me with some other things. Maybe, even… it could help me become stronger?' Naruto paused to think about it.

'I was thinking about it before, maybe I DO have a bloodlimit and I just don't know how to use it. I mean, It's not like anyone would tell me about it and I doubt they'd want me to know about it if it made me stronger..afterall it's harder to beat someone if he ycna put up a fight…' Naruto contemplated the past occurrences with the red aura for a moment and then came back to the matter of his surroundings. 'Oh well, that's for later. I gotta find out where I am…AND how to get the hell back… to…….home.' Thinking of returning to his home, Naruto couldn't help but recall the events of the night before and the realization of the sad fact that ,for all intents and purposes, he no longer had a home… His anger began to surface; he could still vividly recall what had happened…

_Still hiding behind his cover of assorted pieces of trash, Naruto stared out at the mob, acutely aware of his predicament. ' Oh man, what am I going to do! ..if..if they find me.. they….they'll kill me! They just won't stop at the normal stuff. They're for REAL this time! Oh man, oh man, oh man, this isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening…'._

_A shell-shocked Naruto continued his mantra of self-denial while the throng scoured his apartment complex. Naruto only broke out of his mental block after hearing the breaking of glass. Once more, Naruto gathered his strength and peered out through his single hole to see what had happened only to have his heart broken once again. The only birthday gift he had ever received, a ramen bowl given by the old man hokage, lay shattered on top of the pile of debris that once made up his few earthly possessions. He wanted to cry out, to yell, to shriek, to ask WHY but Naruto bit his tongue and stayed silent. _

_Having swallowed his outrage and anguish knowing it would be the end of him, he continued to look on as slowly everything he had ever owned ended up in the pile. His clothes, his few books and scrolls, his bed, his **curtains**, literally everything... He figured that he could at least rummage through what was left once everything settled down but his hopes were crushed when an irate villager with a torch approached the pile and set it aflame. Shocked by the sheer animosity of the villagers he entered a sort of emotional shock. 'Well' Naruto mused to himself, 'I guess at least tonight I won't be cold…Still, it's going to suck having to clean up the house. Heh heh heh. It's going to be painful sleeping on the floor too. Maybe I'll…'. _

_Naruto trailed off in his thoughts as his eyes widened in horror. Spurred on by the sight of the bonfire, the villagers had decided to take the initiative and erase all signs of his existence…by burning the entire complex down. Too shocked to even think , naruto slowly closed his eye hole and leaned back against a dumpster. Considering his security, he realized that in all scenarios his best option was to stay still until things died down…way down. He was close to where they thought he would eventually return one way or another and he knew he wouldn't be able to outrun them. 'the old man..' he thought ' he was always able to find me no matter what…I…I just.. I.just have to wait till he finds me. ..He...he can fix this. He...he always can…I ...just ... I..just have to wait for him to find me..'. Exhausted and tired from the strain of the day's events, Naruto slipped off into sleep, but not before he noticed the familiar wisps of red beginning to evelop his body…_

'yeah' Naruto thought , ' Well I still have to find out where the hell I am and how to get out of here. By now, maybe Ji-san is back…' A spike of rage coursed through him,' Goddamn, villagers! I oughta go and burn THEIR houses down!' Realizing his thoughts were clouded by anger, Naruto calmed himself and made his declaration to the open air. "No…no revenge …is…not the answer. Ji-san has taught me that much! If I am to become Hokage and PROVE to these BASTARDS that I'm not some monster I have to move beyond this. I won't let them turn me into a monster. I AM UZUMAKI NARUTO DAMN IT, THE FUTURE HOKAGE, AND I AM ABOVE THIS!"

Heaving slightly from having shouted his declaration to the world… and at the same time emptying his lungs of all air, Naruto decided to go ahead and see just was down at end of the hallway. Afterall, he mused, it's not like they don't know I'm here… at least not now anyways. He scratched the back of his head. 'Yeah'…' Let's go!'. With that, he put one foot in front of the other and made his way down the hall.

Looking around, Naruto realized that wherever he was, it definitely sucked. 'Man, I hope this isn't a dungeon or something… hell…probably is. Those sick shits!'Naruto took a moment to stop and catch him self. 'Whoops, I gotta stop that. Ji-san got on to me about cursing like that all the time.' Grumbles to him self 'If it was anyone else I'd tell em' to…well…. To do stuff...probably to themselves… or a dog .' Snickers 'Oh well, I gotta stop… But seriously! They probably want to torture me some more before they end it all… Then again, now that they have me in here…wherever the hell this place is… they might just try to keep me alive and torture me all the time… To hell with that! I'll find a way to end it MYSELF before I let that happen to me!'

Naruto continued his mental rambling with the thoughts on his current whereabouts and future getting progressively worse. He began to tire from his trek and began looking for a semi-dry place. He was starting to contemplate the idea of crawling up into the pipes above him or to the side when he came across a large open dry raised area with horizontal bars going from the floor to the ceiling. Inspecting the bars he saw what appeared to be the gate that could allow him through. Noticing a piece of paper that seemed to be just out of his reach he moved to read it. Inspecting it, he discovered that it read 'SEAL' . 'I wonder what in the hell that means? Oh well, I'm tired, I think I'll rest here a bit before I plan my next move.' Turning around, Naruto sat down and braced his back against the gate. Naruto enjoyed being able to sit down and said as much to no one in particular, not expecting a response. "Wow, it feels good being able to sit down after that damn walk, it took forever to get here."

" **Yes, it did. I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever make it…"**

Hello to anyone reading this fic. Thanks for the support so far. I appreciate the comments and I'll try to address a comment or two.

Naruto is not going to be evil in this fic nor is he planning to destroy Konoha. He has stated that he's goingto become Hokage and damn it, Uzumaki NAruto never goes back on his word.

Uh…sorry, that was the only question that really came up?

Well, I guess that about does it for this chapter. Sorry if it's taking too long for you guys to even get to the good stuff. I'm just trying to be descriptive. Perhaps I'm a little too wordy? Well, oh god, just wait till we get to the battle scenes neh? I've got most of the plot outlined and a slew of technique, training, and character interaction ideas. I'm most proud of the original concepts I've come up with. You'll see a couple few of them (the most important ones at least) come up in the next few chapter. Right now I've got major problems with technique/skill translations so if my translation comes of jittery ( as in absolutely deplorable) let me know how to fix it. Thanks again for any comments or any insults for that matter, in fact, if you can, please do insult me. I like to collect them and use them on the other really bad fics I read here and there. Ha ha ha….ha ha ha…ok…moment over. See ya


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: No, no I still don't own Naruto…and I still haven't managed to buy my soul back either…..But….I do still own my original concepts..so if I see you use them…I…WILL…FIND…YOU

'peers into depths of your soul'

'never alone'

CHAPTER 3: or rather the real ch.2? Evenatually it'll balance out….maybe

Hearing a voice come from right behind, Naruto reacted in a manner which was quickly becoming a habit for him. "BAAAAAAH!" shooting up quickly (with shock having already lifted him several feet into the air) and moving away from the gate, Naruto turned around to face the source of the voice. Seeing no one there, but certain that voice the came from somewhere behind him in the darkness and spoke, unfortunately, he did so assuming the voice was the person that had placed him in the murky dungeon… "WHO IS THAT? COME ON OUT! YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME? FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!"

Having made his rambling and shaky statement, Naruto took up a defensive stance and readied himself for what ever attack followed. It was then that a deep, sort of ...purring? voice spoke out. **"Really now Naruto-kun, must you always react in such a way when you're surprised?" **the voice in the darkness dropped off into light laughter and then settled down. **"It's rather obnoxious, especially in such…confining… surroundings…though; I must admit it can be amusing at times." **Naruto wasn't sure but he thought he saw the vague outline of the person speaking…though, if it was, it wasn't a person. Afterall, _people_ aren't over three to four stories tall…

Trying to focus his eyes in on the form, Naruto found he couldn't see the vague outline anymore.Hearing steps being made, Naruto brought his focus back down and in front of him just in time to see the "voice" come out of the darkness. What emerged from the inky blackness shocked Naruto. Now standing before him was the single most beautiful woman Naruto had ever seen in his life…period. First and foremost was her face, a face that Naruto could only describe as somehow angelic…though something told him that just wasn't quite right. Crimson red eyes that seemed to glow with an unknown energy gazed into his own cerulean blue and Naruto found himself wanting to lose himself in her …comforting…gaze? Forcing himself to break eye contact, he saw that beneath her glowing orbs lay a foxy grin that promised mischief of sorts. Moving his eyes back up and above her eyes, he found that her hair shared the deep red color of her eyes and reached down to her waist level. Having followed the hair down her waist, he took notice of her dress.

Or rather, of her kimono, a snow white one at that, with what appeared to have ruby red lining and a matching sash of sorts across the middle. Looking closer he found that all around the seams and in certain areas characters and figures were present. Taking time to observe the intricate patterns and designs across her kimono, he saw what looked like a language he couldn't really understand. Among the pictures though, he noticed a nine-tail fox…It also seemed, after more studying, that the kimono was intended for both battle and formal occasions. This conclusion coming from the fact that the kimono came down low near the top and revealed a more than decent degree of cleavage, though Naruto wasn't really taking notice at the time, afterall, he was a seven year old. Near the bottom it reached down only to a small ways below her knees giving, once again, a generous look at her flesh, in this case her legs. Observing her legs, arms, hands, and face once again he found her skin to be a sort of creamy, lightly tanned color… If he had been a little bit more observant, he probably would've noticed the nine red tails swaying to and fro behind and around her as well…What he did notice though was the blade at her side. Once again, the strange characters were present as they were carved on both the hilt and sheath of the blade. 'wow' Naruto thought ' what an awesome looking sword…'

Once having taken in the full measure of her beauty and general appearance, all the words Naruto had formed in the back of his throat to chastise the source of his mockery and surprise caught together and refused to come out. Unknowingly, he sputtered his mix of conscious and subconscious out in the one word his seven year old mind could come up with to her describe her on all fronts. ".. .beautiful…"

Blushing a bit from Naruto's first real response to her, the woman replied in a now normal tone, except for a slight purring that is….** "**Why thank you Naruto-kun**. "** Wondering how the woman knew how to respond to what he had only thought, the reality of the situation sunk in on Naruto and a dark scarlet blush found its way to his cheeks while he stuttered. " ummm I uh …uh ..I..uh.." . **"**Yes, Naruto-kun**?" **the woman replied in a half-chuckle. Recovering from his blush, Naruto decided to get down to business. After all, he was stuck in some dungeon he had been walking in for hours and she was his best chance for answers. He didn't even need to bring up the fact that the last time he had been conscious he had been in mortal peril. It was fairly obvious, it seemed to him, that either she or someone with her had been the one responsible for bringing him here. She knew who he was AND she used his name. _No one_ except for the old man had ever called him anything other than monster, demon, or brat… Something was up with this woman and he needed to find what it was before something happened to him. Abruptly changing from a blushing youngster to a cold youth, Naruto addressed the woman. " Who the hell are you and why have you brought me here?"

Her own attitude changing somewhat to engage the serious attitude of the child in front of her, the woman responded. "Listen Naruto. First things things first. One, you don't need to worry about me harming you. Two, for right now, at least, you're safe. If I can do anything about it, it'll remain that way. Three, who am I? Well… we'll talk about that a little later… Right now, I need you to calm down and listen to …"

The woman was broken off by Naruto. " DON'T WORRY? SAFE? Are you kidding me? How the hell am I safe? How the hell am I supposed to trust you? I don't even know you and _you_ dragged me down into whatever place this. You expect me to just sit down calmly and listen? You know who I am so you at least must know a little of what I've gone through. How the hell do you expect me to be calm and trust you when you won't even tell me your name and I don't know what's going on! For all I know, you're just buying time for some mob to make its way down here to …"

Naruto found his own speech cut off by a thunderous response from the woman.

" **SHUT UP!" **the woman looked down and to the side while sighing. " Do you think if I wanted you dead you'd be here and now? You saw the villagers. Do you think they looked like they wanted to wait around for some more "fun"?" the woman looked into his eyes for a sense of understanding. Once she found some and he calmed down noticeably she continued on. " Listen Naruto, the fact of the matter is…I …I didn't bring you down here. You came down here by yourself, by your own choice."

Clearly confused, Naruto interjected, "What are you talking about? The last thing I remember was falling asleep after those assholes torched everything I ever had! I think I would remember getting up and traipsing through an army of villagers out for my head."

"Sure, you would if you had actually moved from under the garbage" the woman mumbled.

"That's my point, I would've remembered moving. So either YOU or someone ELSE brought ME here." Naruto crossed his arms in a smug manner after having made his point.

"Naruto, listen, this is going to sound…er...eh…strange…but…um...you're still there. You just don't know it."

"What are you talking about?" he exclaimed, "If I'm still there how the hell am I here talking to you?"

" Your mind" after having said that and seeing the blank look on the child's face the woman decided to explain further. "We're INSIDEyour mind." Still finding a dumbfounded expression on Naruto's face she decided to just go ahead and give him an example. " Naruto-kun, look at my lips." Naruto nodded and proceeded to stare intently at her lips. The woman went ahead with her example. "_Okay, see. We're inside your mind. I don't even have to use my lips." _She looked to Naruto once again for understanding. His face seemed to cock to the side for a moment as he processed the information. His answer came out as such:

"AAAAHHHHHH! GET OUT OF MY BRAIN! OUT OUT OUT!"

The woman sweat-dropped as Naruto ran around outside the gates jumping up and down shaking his head and screaming for her to get out of his brain. ' Sure' she thought ' this is funny and all, but how is he going to react when I tell him the rest…Oh well, best get it over with and work from there.' She sighed once again and tried to get Naruto's attention. "Naruto" " AHHHH, GET OUT" "Naruto" "OUT OUT OUT"

"NARUTO" "BLAHHHHHH" **"NARUTO!" **The woman roared and brought her now burning eyes to bear on the boy as her voice echoed through the chamber loudly. The said boy was now paused in mid-leap with his hands on his head with his wide eyes focused on her. "Do I have your attention?" The boy quickly nodded and then promptly fell down on his face.

After sweat-dropping once again, the woman started up. "Naruto-kun, Please listen to me and come over here." Naruto, after having picked himself up and dusting off the dirt on his clothes, nodded and came to stand just in front of her. Seeing that the boy was now paying her full-attention she began.

" It's time you learned about why those people are after you Naruto-kun." Seeing him tense up, she took a deep breath and continued on. "Naruto-kun, haven't you ever wondered why you're treated the way you are? Haven't you wondered why everyone either ignores you completely or treats you like sub-human trash? Don't you wonder why you have no family, why you were kicked out of the orphanage, why the only person who seems to care if you're even alive or dead is the Hokage?" Naruto was now looking at the floor avoiding her eyes. It was obvious to her that the subject pained him and she was wary of what was to come, but it was necessary… She waited patiently for any kind of response, but received none. She was about to speak again when the small boy in front of her beat her to the chase.

"every moment…of everyday." The answer was honest and to the point. The sheer bluntness of the statement hurt, but she knew it was true. She wondered if he would say anything else. He did. "I've wondered why it's like this every day of my life for as long as I could remember. I knew this wasn't how it was supposed to be for a long time, ever since the orphanage. I was the only one they treated the way they did." Naruto's hand raised up to his face and the woman knew he was wiping away tears.

"They hugged all the other kids, tucked them in, even gave them kisses. They told them that they were good, that they loved them, that …someday they'd have a family too...but…for me, they…they never wanted to touch me. I…I remember when I was younger they used the hose to wash me then they'd throw me some rags and yell at me to get to "bed". They told me I was a demon, that I didn't deserve love, that I was a bastard mistake, and…an abomination…"

Naruto was openly sobbing at this point. "The only attention I ever got was when they beat me…when they punished me… There…were no kisses and hugs for me… Eventually, I began to crave the punishment. It…I… I saw some of the other kids get punished every now and then when it was obvious they'd do something wrong. Too obvious for the mto blame it on me When I was punished…it...made me feel like at least I shared something with them. It was sick, I know it, but it was the closest thing to "affection" I got… Do I ever wonder? You're damn right I do. Even after I was kicked out it was the same if not worse! Those god damn mobs …and …the torture… Wonder? I've PLEADED, I've BEGGED for someone to tell me …….why…"

Naruto stopped his small rant and cold, steel blue met burning, crimson red.

" And YOU are going to tell me why? YOU are going to tell me what no one else in this whole damn village is willing to. What even the old man won't tell me? Someone I've never even seen before… Someone who's apparently in MY mind? Just…just who the hell are you? How would you know? TELL ME!"

Feeling her control slipping somewhat, but knowing the moment of truth was at hand, the woman in the white kimono spoke…

"Because…because…I… I am why they hate you Naruto-kun…Because I am the source of your suffering…Because in you, the villagers see me."

Silence reigned for a moment while both stared into each other's eyes for some sense of the passing emotions. In Naruto's eyes, the woman could see confusion, anger, and disbelief for some reason? In the woman's eyes Naruto could see sadness, regret, and…something he wasn't quite sure about…something he'd never seen before. He'd seen something…like it… before in the eyes of the old man, but this…this was different…he'd only seen it in…but that was impossible…wasn't it?

Time passed and Naruto was the first to speak…

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't even know YOU. This is the first time I've ever even met you. How could you be the reason? It doesn't make any sense. You're not around me and plus, you don't look like the type to do something bad enough to anger that many people. How…how could you be the reason?" He looked into her eyes for some sense o further understanding and explanation. He was not disappointed.

"Naruto-kun…" She paused and took a deep breath as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Naruto… tell me…tell me what you know about the attack of the Kyubi seven years ago…"

Well there goes ch.3 . I know, I know, we're still not to the meat, but hey, I'm trying to do this right and with college test and al lthat I have to take time to stud yand have a life and all that jazz. …whoops. Guess I better make an amendment to my profile and add the bit about college student. Oh well… Anyways, I hope I get some good reviews. Flames are once again equally appreciated. Though, I'm not receiving any surprisingly… The reason it's taking so long is because I'm trying to build up the NaruKyubi connection. I'm also taking the time to do a lot of technique research and planning out the rest of the fic. I swear, eventually it'll progress faster….maybe. 'cough' 'cough'. Anyways, I went back into the couple 'a few reviews I had and realized I skipped arelevant question. Sorry.

DRAGONMAN180- The relation will expand outside of 'mind only relations'. I won't go into further details than that.

Alright then, till next time.


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: ….I….DO…NOT…OWN…NARUTO….**UNDERSTAND? **

(But I do own my original concepts)

'never alone'

CH.4

When the woman had asked him what he knew about Kyubi he had said 'not much'. All he knew was that the Kyubi was the strongest of all demons and that it had attacked Konoha. The fourth hokage, his hero, had sacrificed his life to kill the demon and Konoha was saved. He had then asked her what that had had to do with anything.

He had wanted answers. Boy, did he ever get them.

Words could not describe what Naruto was feeling. Thinking in a detached manner once again, he considered the progress of the day's events. The outcome was not entirely unexpected. The Conclusion: today sucked bad….REAL bad. In a single day, he realized, his view of the world had been utterly shattered…

The mob burning his home and property, waking up inside some dungeon and having to wander for hours while in mortal fear for his life, and then finally meeting some woman that spoke to him through his thoughts….while INSIDE his brain ALREADY, and oh yeah the best one….

He was the container of the Nine-tail fox demon, the one that had attacked his home, Konoha, seven years prior.

Oh and don't forget…

The woman, the one that had seemed nice to him…and pretty to boot, the one currently standing in front of him crying, in what he had been told was her cage……..was the fox demon herself.

As the events circled through his mind over and over again trying to make sense out of all of it, one thought was prevalent…

Yep, today sucked….

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The woman, now known to be the demon Kyubi, looked down on Naruto as tears continued to fall from her eyes and her features conveyed her worry for her container. He didn't say anything to the news. In fact, his only reaction to the information at all had been to fall flat on his butt and to stare at her...or rather, through her, in a state of shock. She realized it had been one hell of a shock, even more so for a child of no more than seven years of age, but it was time he knew. The road ahead would not be a pleasant one, but if they were both to survive, the first steps had to be taken soon. He had to stand on his own to feet and learn to fight for himself. The mobs were evidence enough of that. She could only heal him so much at one time due to the seal and the level of harm they were promising? She didn't think she'd be able to grow back all of his limbs and digits, let alone his brain and heart. Yes, the first steps had to be taken soon. He just had to muster the will and strength to get up…

He was strong. She knew this first hand…After all; she had watched him all these years… through all the tears… and through all the torture…She'd been there, She'd seen it, and through him, she'd felt it…

It had made _her_ want to die.

No, it wasn't the physical pain that affected her so. It was the emotional toll. Through out the years she had bonded with the boy. She had seen his first steps and heard his first words. She had seen him pick himself up and keep on going more times than she could count. She saw the unwavering honesty and integrity of character the boy possessed, the will to survive by his _OWN _way regardless of the world, and his deepest desire to receive acknowledgment. Even to demons, such traits were rare at so young an age. She didn't feel like his mother and she certainly didn't feel like his sister, but there was certainly a feeling there. It was _that_ feeling that made her want to die…

It hadn't always been that way. In the beginning, when she first understood what had happened, she was angry. _VERY ANGRY _. Her vengeance on the arrogant ninjas had not only been stopped short, SHE'D been sealed! Into a human child of all things! Her power was trapped along with her form inside the prison of a babe… Despite her fury and blows against her prison she was trapped…

All she could do was sit back and observe…

With time, her perception changed. She came to understand the humans and realized that while she had been just in attempting to destroy the one that had committed an atrocity in order to gain the power and favor of a nine-tail lord, she had been entirely wrong in trying to massacre the village that he escaped into…

The first year of the child's life, by then she had learned his name was Naruto, was not entirely unpleasant. The time spent under the care of the Hokage was… enlightening. It was what had changed her opinion of the village. The Hokage was a wise and noble leader. He cared for his village and often spoke to Naruto. She appreciated the fact that he addressed Naruto not as herself but as his own being. The same could not be said for most of the others that came around the boy. Regardless, she learned what it meant to be shinobi from listening to the human and for that she was thankful.

Thereafter, however, her opinion of the village began to change back… With the coming of the orphanage incidents and the subsequent atrocities involved with torture and abuse in the village, she had vowed to reduce Konoha to ashes for the crimes against Naruto. Even her begrudging respect for the old man would not stop her…

What did change her mind was Naruto.

' I WILL BECOME HOKAGE AND THEY WILL HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE ME!' had been his words. The Kyubi reconsidered her position and made a new vow…She would help Naruto…It was the least she could do for him…

Yes, he'd been put through a hell that few demons, let alone humans, had ever had the misfortune to suffer in and yet he had persevered, if not thrived. Rather than drown in sorrow entirely, focus on revenge, or just lose himself to insanity…her had carried on. He had chosen his own path against all odds. To earn the love and respect of those that would wish him death. Naruto…Naruto was strong. She knew for a fact…

He'd make it.

She'd make sure of it.

But still, the absence of what might seem like a normal reaction was disturbing….'Perhaps' she thought 'I should try and get through to him inside his thoughts'.

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Naruto felt a slight tugging at his mind and realized it was the fox woman trying to communicate with him. Finally coming back into control of his faculties, he brought his now cold eyes up and bored into the Kyubi's own.

Seeing she had his attention, she gathered her wits and began to speak. " Naruto…I…I'm so sorry. I… never meant for all of this to happen to you. If…If I had known… I…" She was interrupted mid-speech by Naruto.

"YOU…YOU… YOU'RE SORRY?...YOU'RE SORRY?" Taking the time to glare as hard as he could directly into the eyes of the demon, the cause of his suffering, Naruto continued on while screaming. "YOU'RE SORRY! YOU WRECKED MY ENTIRE LIFE AND YOU'RE JUST SORRY!" Shaking and heaving as the tears fell down from his eyes to the floor , Naruto took one large gasp of air and began again. "You…you're sorry…? My whole life…for NOTHING...and you...you're sorry?" Falling back on the ground, now completely sprawled out, Naruto lay quiet as his chest heaved up and down. Silent tears streaked past his cheeks as he stared at the ceiling. Silence reigned for minutes only to be broken once again by Naruto….

"My whole life…I…thought…that I…that I had done something wrong. Something I couldn't remember, but something bad. My whole life I've thought that it's been my fault …that maybe I deserved it somehow…maybe in even a little way, but…but I was wrong." Naruto breathed in deeply and then cried out. "IT WASN'T EVEN MY DAMN FAULT AND THEY KNEW!" his breathing easing, the next few words came out as whispers. "They knew…the whole time ...and they still didn't care….' A few more moments passed. The demoness was considering things to say, but what could you say when you were the cause of such a life… She was saved with another question. "why?"

Thinking that he was referring to his last statements, she responded in a tired manner. "It's because of what I said before. In you they see me. The truth, the fact you have always been nothing more than an innocent, means nothing to them. My…my attack was …not merciful. I did many things that now…now I would never do. The fact is, they lost much and with out some outlet of vengeance they would lose their minds…you…you became their scapegoat. The source of all their ills. For their suffering at my hand as well as all that followed…..Naruto…I…I am truly sorry."

"No." Naruto stated firmly

Sadly, seeing the boy's hesitation to accept such a cruelty in life, Kyubi spoke. "No, I...am sorry Naruto. It is hard to understand, it's a harsh reality to face, but you have to under…"

"NO,I meant why did you attack?" Naruto asked aggressively sitting up and facing the woman, desperately seeking for any new ways to understand the situation.

For once, the fox demon found herself at a lost. She had not thought he would even care to ask for her reasons till he had been aware of her for quit awhile. Considering her choices and the knowledge at hand, she decided to inquire about is train of thought. "What, what do you mean Naruto? Why do you want to know why I attacked? I thought, I thought you'd be so angry you wouldn't even speak to me for ages…"

Naruto's eyes darkened considerabley as he spoke." Who said I'm not angry? You're a demon. You attacked my village. You ruined my life on all levels and have made everyone in my village loathe my as they would a devil. Angry? I way past that…but…" Naruto trailed off as his eyes softened into a sad spaced look.

"but?" the demoness asked somewhat wary from his earlier words but also somewhat…hopeful?

"your eyes…" Naruto said.

"What…what about my eyes?" the fox demon responded uncertainly. She was fully aware that her demonic visage, human form or not , disturbed many. 'Especially my eyes' she thought to herself. Somehow, the glowing crimson orbs she possessed made others naturally uneasy. In a battle it was great, the fear they could cause when utilized properly was amazing, _ but_ in normal conversation …they…'limited' her. Afterall, they're failry obvious, fairly unique…what with the slit that showed up every now and then, and most importantly, a tell tale sign of her demonic power. She could only wonder what he saw in them and so she waited…

"I can see the pain in them…when…when you said you were sorry for all that you've done. I … I don't want to believe you…but your…your eyes, they're different, but …they're the same as mine. I can see the loneliness …and sorrow…most of all though…I see regret…so…please…please just tell me why so I can undertand. You… you don't seem like the bloodthirsty killer I've seen pictures and heard stories about before…Earlier…when we first met…you…you could've attacked me when I was sitting against that gate there. You could've killed me then and there, but you didn't. From what I understand about the seal and from what you told me about it…if you had killed me, you would be in control of my body….once again…I …I need to know why you did it. I need to understand….please…" Finishing, Naruto stood and approached the gates. Coming to a stop, he put his hands on the bars and came close toward the Kyubi. He pleaded once more as the woman looked down and stayed silent. "please…"

Now caught completely and utterly off-guard, the Kybui just didn't know how to respond. It was the truth, yes. She could've killed him. Could've taken over when he neared…but she didn't. She could never do that to him…She looked down into his expectant eyes and saw a desperate desire for knowledge and understanding. Considering his words, she realized that even she on occasion was surprised by his maturity and strength of heart. Even through the shock and anger he was able to see that which was true before him…Taking a breath, she prepared herself for to tell a long story, a story of the beginning, of demon lords and clans long gone, of alliances and conflicts from an era gone by, of the death of her heart, of the passage of time, of the discovery of an atrocity, and finally of a final choice and its consequences for them both." Naruto-kun" she said," Take a seat, this is going to take awhile…"

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whooo, that took a lot to write for me. I tried very hard to try and come up with a compelling emotional scene. To be quite honest, it's hard trying to get this to work. The honest point is that a mother/son relationship is far more likely under the said circumstances than what I'm trying to write, but by the end of the next chapter it ought to work out fine. I'm happy that I've received some good reviews here and there. I got my first flame too (yippee) though it wasn't for this fic. It was for my little one-shot. I'll admit, the one-shot is horrible, but I was just writing for the sake of writing why listening to some music and it let me practice going through some motions. I might go back and redo it sometime. Anyways, back to this fic. Like I said earlier. I want it done right. SOOOO, it might take awhile. Good things come to those who wait, right? Well, in closing on my A/N for this chap I'll just say that I don't think I got any answerable questions….so..no question answering this one.yeah..I bet THAT sounded real smart. (smacks self upside head). Alright, well, my consciousness is starting to give out. Time for SLEEP. HOORAY! This is the madnarutofan signing off!

NEXT UP: HISTORY OF THE KYUBIS?


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: okay magic trick time. Take a pencil and cover the line directly underneath this one. Okay. Skip 3 lines.

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO – I do own my own original character s and concepts.

IF YOU CAN GUESS WHAT'S COVERED BY THE PENCIL, REVIEW ME W/ THE ANSWER AND WIN A GOLD STAR!

'never alone'

Ch.5 – this one even gets a name "HISTORY OF THE KYUBIS"

Taking a few moments to collect her thoughts, the fox woman known as the Kyubi, the nine-tail demon terror of konoha began her story…

"I …suppose…to fully understand what happened. I'll have to tell you about it all from the beginning." The woman murmured, reliving memories as she spoke.

"The beginning of your attack?" Naruto asked with a grim interest.

After a moment, the woman noticed Naruto had asked her something and thought back to answer. " No Naruto, from the beginning of MY life." Seeing Naruto's confused nature she clarified. "Listen , for you to really understand...why...I acted the way I did you're going to have to hear the… whole… story."

Naruto gave a simple "Hn" in response and the demoness began again.

"None of us are sure exactly how we all came to be, even the ancients of my kind never knew the whole truth as to how the world was created …but… this much is known. At first, there was chaos, nothingness as it were…and then, two worlds were created. The world of the demons, mine, and yours, the world of mankind. Each was separated and at the time neither knew of the other's existence….… In my own world, the powers of demon kind grew to unprecedented levels and nothing seemed to stand in our way. Great clans of demons formed and battles raged across the demon realm for supremacy and control while all along the land was ravaged. Left to its own devices, your own world remained ignorant of these happenings and remained peaceful and untouched… In time though that changed….With the power of many clans finally becoming permanent, the different factions finally took the time to look at what they had to rule... and…the truth finally came to them. In their quest for power and dominance, they had destroyed our land…our world…Only a few territories were left in relatively fair condition and there was little doubt that further conflict would find its way there soon…"

Taking time to breathe in and consider her next words, the Kyubi continued…

"For the now ancient lords of the demon realm, this was… unacceptable. Many began researching in their power the means by which to travel into other realms…first, they developed techniques to try and rip through dimensional rifts and see into other planes. They succeeded…. and …eventually…" the Kyubi sighed "eventually, they found a way to see into your world…a perfect, ripe world filled with only a few weakened beings called 'humans'…" the Kyubi chuckled in a dark and mocking manner and seeing Naruto's disturbed confusion explained "It was the first thing all the demon clans ever worked on together. Success, even for those old fools, was only a matter of time…With their work completed; the greatest of the clans gathered all together along with their kin and, by using their combined powers and a new terrifying ability discovered by the Ookami, they opened a rift between the worlds… In that single, moment the history of your world changed forever…"

At this point the Kyubi became angry and slammed her two fists against the cage's bars a small distance down form where Naruto sat and yelled out with an angry voice. "Do you know what those damn fools did once they came here? Do you know what the greatest and 'most powerful' demon lords did the moment they got here? THEY STARTED THE DAMN WARS ALL OVER AGAIN! THEY WERE GOING TO REPEAT THE WHOLE THING!"

Seething, the Kyubi halted her speech and took a moment to calm her self… "They started the same damn war all over again…the fools. It was bad enough that most of the demon realm was laid to ruins, but now they were going to repeat it all over again… They didn't even care the least bit about the life already here, your people…It was insane…it was unacceptable and so…we, the younger lords, rebelled against those that came before us in the moment of their weakness. We were younger, we were stronger, and even at their peak they were never our equals…"

A small smile made its way to the fox woman's face as she recalled the victory over the lords of old and the discovery of new friends…"After the civil war, the clans each came under new leadership…Eventually, four factions came out of the chaos. The lead faction, and the most powerful was led by Seigi, the nine-tailed wolf, the Kyubi no Ookami. Seigi…" the remaining Kyubi paused as happy memories passed by in her mind…" Seigi, was a brave and noble demon lord. He believed in justice and equality among the tribes. That's probably why he attracted the oddest following. Within his army were the wolves, the dogs, the birds, and frogs!" the demoness was openly laughing at this point "FROGS AND BIRDS…TOGETHER! I mean honestly, who the hell…." The Kyubi trailed off as she observed a still grim and serious Naruto lacking both humor and understanding….'cough '… " Never mind…" she murmured. "The important thing to know…is that Seigi…Seigi had a gift. He could bring anyone together…He had such an energy, such a zeal, and his power…oh…did he have power…. He made you think anything was possible. Really, Naruto-kun, you may not know it, but you remind me a lot of him…"

The Kyubi trailed off while lost in thought, but then collected herself. "After Seigi, was Dento…Dento…was a bit more…different than the rest of us. Most of us were against many of the old traditions and all. We were there to carve out a new destiny for our peoples, a new way, but Dento…Dento was the definition of a 'stick in the mud'. To say he was hung up on tradition is an understatement. Still, it didn't matter that much to us. Other than a few things he'd be fanatical about here and then, he was usually flexible for those outside his sphere of influence…which was quite small by the way. Dento was the nine-tailed dragon lord, the Kyubi no Ryu. His dominion consisted only of his own dragons and the snakes. There were also a few other minor serpent clans that had minimal distinctions, but they usually just hailed Dento as their lord… When it came down to it…Dento…he was a reliable friend and leader. He tried to rule fairly within his sphere and maintain order…though...none of the rest of us ever figured out how in the hell he ever got Manda to do anything. We figured he just kind of let things go the way they would around him… Damn, lazy, evil, conniviving snake…son of a…well, on to the other one…the REAL bastard…"

The Kyubi's anger rose to new heights as she remembered the last other nine-tail lord, the Kyubi no Sasori. Gritting her teeth, she spat out his name…" Uragiri… the bastard's name was Uragiri… We… we knew he was evil from the beginning…but…he...was powerful…powerful as of the rest of us at the time, and we needed him and his forces to gain control of the human realm and create some sense of order… We allowed him into our ranks…and…we paid for it later dearly…" having vented some anger, the Kybui allowed a deep breath to leave her lungs and shook her head as she recalled his empire. " Uragiri, was an evil one all right. Cunning, devious, sly…you name it. He was smart, VERY smart, and this is coming from me, the Queen, Lord, and leader of the Kitsune, the demon foxes, masters of trickery…He was also very cruel, but…I suppose that was a given considering who and what he was. I can't exactly imagine a nine-tailed scorpion being exactly trustworthy let alone friendly. Like I said before, I can understand to a point… I guess I'd have to be like that too if I was high lord of the mantis, spiders, slugs, and scorpions. It's not exactly a supportive group. Hell, two of the clans often eat their own mates and that's freakish even for demons!" seeing Naruto's now bug-eyed expression and the fact that he was slightly scooting away from the gate she shouted " HEY I SAID THAT WAS NORMAL FOR THEM. TO THE REST OF US THEY'RE FREAKS!" Seeing that Naruto stopped his escape…but didn't move back she continued on. " Now, 'ahem' , As I said, Uragiri was a cruel and evil one, he kept a lot to himself, which was probably for the best. If we had known more about him we probably would've gone back to war" …not that it mattered for long anyways she added on silently to herself. " What we did know was that he was the most power hungry out of the four of us… That's why he joined up in the effort. He wanted to see how we obtained our powers as nine-tails and to see if it was possible to reach beyond the limits of a demon's existence. A nearly endless lifespan and power beyond human comprehension wasn't enough for him…he had to have more…to know more….but we didn't care. Seigi thought that as long as the three of us could check his power that we would be alright…Seigi…thought he could be relied upon to a certain extent…Like I said earlier, we needed his power and influence…so he joined."

Pacing around while cracking her neck, The Kyubi no Kitzune spoke. " And…that's how we came to be known as the four Kyubis…High demon lords of the human realm… Having gained control of the realm, we established order and divied up the territory into four different areas. North, South, East, and West. To maintain our balance, each fraction had its closest partner placed across from them. Seigi and…"

The fox woman was cut off by Naruto in mid speech. " WAIT, what's your name?"

The demoness responded quickly. " _My_ name? I thought it would be obvious, I am the Kyubi no Kitsune, the nine-tailed fox."

"NO" Naruto stated exasperatedly " What's your _name_ not your _title_! All the others had a name besides which type of Kyubi they were. What's your name? Now that I know it's just some sort of demon title I want your real name."

Noticing the prior seriousness was momentarily gone from Naruto, she decided to try him a little." Why should I tell you? For a demon to give their name openly is an honor, besides, you ought to have some measure of respect for me. I mean, come on, in my world I was the equivalent of your hokage." The Kyubi no Kitsune responded with no small degree of smugness stressed in her voice.

"Oh come on, I don't even do that for the old man." He retorted.

"You should." the fox woman replied curtly.

"Come OOOOONNNN" Naruto whined in a pleading manner with his previous grim state now nearly forgotten.

"I…I don't want to…" the woman stated…while looking down and to the side with a slight blush on her face.

"What…why?" Naruto asked, now extremely interested.

"Because…you'll make fun of it… All the others did…" she asserted while mumbling…

"What? No I won't I promise!" he insisted.

"Promise?" she waited for a moment to see him nod his head in confirmation. " Okay, its…it's…Warai"

Silence dominated the chamber for several moments only to be broken. First by the sounds of snickering and then by light laughter.

"**DAMN IT NARUTO**! **YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T LAUGH !" **roared the Kyubi no Kitsune now embarrassed and extremely angry.

"And I still haven't" chuckled the blond haired youth. " At least not at you that is…It's just.."

"JUST WHAT?" the demoness harshly cut-off.

" It's just that it figures such a pretty name would go with an equally pretty woman."

"WHAT DO YOU Mean…?" The fox woman trailed off, losing her anger.

"What's more beautiful than laughter? I know for a fact from the few times I've ever really laughed how wonderful it was…It… makes you feel …full… inside….kind of…complete. I think it's a great name…."

Naruto continued on for a few moments commenting on her name totally unawares of the effect his words had on her. 'oh Naruto-kun...' ran through the woman's mind.' You'll be something special when you're older. That's for sure'. Coming back to her senses, the demoness just managed to catch Naruto's last words about continuing her story…

"So anyway, I think it's a nice name …Warai…but seriously.." Naruto's face returned to a measure of his previous grim stature. "What the hell happened? I got it that you're one of these Kybui lords, but what the hell does that have to do with Konoha? You still haven't explained what the connection is."

Her smile fading, the Kyubi no Kitsune, now known as Warai, responded. " I…I'm getting there Naruto…It's just it's…been a long time since I've talked to anyone…let alone about what happened…In fact, you…you'll be the first to know what fully happened. So…just…just give me some time…"

Warai took yet another deep breath as memories…now...sad ones flushed past her. "As I was saying before, We were placed opposite our closest ally. For myself, I was the Southern Lord in control of the Tanuki, bears, and foxes. Seigi claimed the high throne as the northern lord while Uragiri controlled the west and Dento ruled the East…That's basically how things worked for…a long time. We each had our own way of running things, but there were a few common laws we held amongst ourselves to protect the life and land that was here before our arrival. The most important law was the mandate of guardianship…which…_basically_…meant that the demons that reigned over an area were responsible for the humans living there." Warai chuckled once again… though this time it was as if a funny joke had just been played on someone close by. "I can tell you personally that nearly all of the demon clans _HATED_ that law at first. I mean, really, we were forcing them to treat you humans in a way that was unthinkable for many demons. Many demons didn't even consider other types of demons their equals…let alone humans…but" Warai's eyes once again softened "Seigi…could be…very… _persuasive_. He was very determined that we wouldn't abandon those who lived here before us and it was his clan ,the Ookami, who had discovered the secret to the rift and he was able to use the threat of a return trip more than once. HA HA ha..the looks on their HA HA hah AHAH." Obviously, Warai was now roaring in laughter at the memory.

Gathering her wits once again and wiping a tear of laughter from her eye she began anew. "Yes, at first they were reluctant to say the least…but, we were able to force the clans to obey the law. Afterall, if they weren't persuaded by the power of Seigi alone…which was stupid in the first place… they were quickly silenced by the combined might of the four lords…It..It was like that for many a year, but eventually… eventually things began to get better, Just like Seigi said they would…"

Making eye contact with Naruto she carried on. "Your civilization began to thrive under the hand of the demon lords and eventually nearly all of the clans grew to respect their human neighbors to some extent. Eventually, they even taught your kind the demonic arts of energy manipulation and physical combat, but of course, you call it ninjustu and taijustu…"

"WHAT?" Naruto cried out while amazed by the new information.

"Yes Naruto-kun, it was my kind, the demons who taught your people the initial ways in which to wield their physical and spiritual energy…. Though, now, your means are much, much different from our own."

Curious, Naruto questioned the fox woman. "What do you mean? Do demons not use hand seals?"

"Naruto-kun, it's a little hard to use hand seals the way you humans do when you don't have hands," she replied. Seeing the confusion she once again explained further. " Naruto-kun, right now, I'm in my human form, but whenever serious battle came around I transformed into my full demonic state. Remember the stories about the four to five story tall demon? That's how large I can become…though it is adjustable. " Seeing an 'oh' look come across his face she continued. " BUT that's not to say we never used hand seals at all…we just didn't use as many. In fact, traditionally, we only used one and that was while in our human forms. Typically, that was our clan seal or rather…our animal type and even then it was only used to focus our unique energies for our specific clan techniques… I mean, really, didn't you humans ever wonder why all of your seals correlated to demons? Come on, when was the last time you saw a dragon? I thought they would've figured it out…but no, they just think it's the zodiac. How sad…"

"But wait, how come there's no fox, wolf, or scorpion seal? " Naruto asked.

"That's because our clans never revealed our focusing techniques to you humans. Though, I imagine, if we had, you would now have some rather amazing ninjutsus." Warai stated.

Perplexed, Naruto confronted her. "What makes you say that?"

" Naruto-kun, you've got a great dream, but you really ought to be a little more perceptive about your environment if you want to achieve it... Don't you know what the most powerful elemental ninjutsu attacks are?" seeing the 'duh huh?' look on Naruto's face she sighed. "They're the elemental dragon attacks Naruto-kun. Your most powerful elemental attacks are the ones originating from the line of the demon dragon clan techniques…." Shaking her head with a smirk she continued "I have to admit, I never even thought you humans would advance this far in energy manipulation. Granted, I thought you had some potential, but I never thought you could make it this far…only Seigi did…" seeing the same clue less expression as before, Warai made a mental note to share her ancient history with the Hokage some where down the line…It was getting tiresome explaining it this time and she didn't want to have to do it again… "Listen, the reason I said that is this…my people, demons…we have huge stores of charka which we freely flow within and around us in order to achieve our desired results. Experience with that makes us masters of charka manipulation…while you humans...you kind of 'control' it externally and waste it. When we use our clan seals, we're focusing our specific types of clan energy. Considering that each demon clan had a different type of technique that they mastered, we each had a different seal, and the seals focused on a different type of energy. Apparently, you humans wizened up to that fact and discovered that by combining the focusing techniques of multiple clans you could recreate advanced demonic techniques…or rather…imitations of them. For beings that have such a short lifespan and relatively limited amounts of chakra that's really amazing…." Warai smiled at Naruto-kun and thought in the back of her mind. 'Yes, Naruto-kun. Humans have a great potential and I'll make sure you reach your peak…'

"Wow, I never knew any of that…" Naruto expelled in amazement.

"Well, almost no one else does Naruto…" she replied while enjoying the look of Naruto's wowed state.

"But…how come none of the other Kyubi clans revealed their techniques to humans? Did you all not have direct control over humans and that's why or what? Did you not want the humans to learn your powers?" Naruto proposed.

At Naruto's question, both Warai's tone and demeanor darkened considerably. " No..no Naruto. It …it wasn't that we didn't want to it was …more that we couldn't …or rather, that we weren't supposed to…"

"I don't understand…" said Naruto.

"I wouldn't expect you too…that's...that's why I'm telling you this story in the first place…" Warai rebuked to a now silent Naruto. "As I was saying…after getting used to the laws and having humans around for a few generations or so, they took it upon themselves to train them and show them how use their own powers. For awhile it was just to be able to guard themselves… None of us saw any problem with it. It improved trust, understanding , and relations amongst humans and demons but eventually…things took a turn for the worse…" Warai's eyes darkened and she looked down once more as she spoke. "The laws…the terms of guardianship had many rules …that…we agreed to. Some of these laws were proposed by Seigi and I while the others….the others were proposed by Dento and Uragiri…We looked them over and agreed…we…never thought that what we had agreed to could be twisted in such a way…" Warai lay silent for a moment before beginning again. "It was the humans underneath Uragiri's clans that first attacked the other territories…We… we moved to stop them, but Uragiri showed up and played his hand along with the other lords…the laws... the laws they said… stated that the demons were the guardians of the humans to which they were allotted to both by territory and by people. Where their people went…so did they. To that extent, their power and influence were defined by the humans they reigned over. To preserve a somewhat normal society for the humans, it was also decided that demons were not to interfere within interhuman affairs….With that knowledge, Uragiri had planned a power play by amassing an army of trained humans…" gritting her teeth Warai finished her statement. "Wherever they went of their 'own affairs'…so did he and his his realm of control."

Warai had paused to collect a few breaths before beginning again when Naruto spoke. "What happened?"

Warai's response was simple and to the point. "…war…" Turning around and bracing her back against the bars of the cage, she slid down and sat on the ground. "War happened Naruto-kun…. It seemed like everything we'd worked for was going down the drain all over again…It was even worse this time though…the humans… whole families and cities were being slaughtered and….their guardians…the ones they had looked to for help and protection were…helpless to do anything about it…If we intervened though… an even worse war would come about…the best we could do was to train our own forces…which we did. It wasn't long after that each Kyubi had their own camp to run…essentially, this is where the ninja and the hidden village was born…." Warai didn't even need to look up and see the shocked expression on Naruto's face to know it was there. "Yes, we were rather surprised things turned out the way they did as well…"

"Well I don't get it then…if the Kyubi no Ryu was able to reveal his clan seal and techniques why couldn't the others? I think it would've made a lot of sense then especially. I mean, you can only do so much with one hand seal." Naruto questioned.

"It's like I said before, Naruto, we the Kyubi were not allowed to teach any of our techniques to the humans…Humans didn't get the dragon seal because Dento taught it to them. They got it …because……well…that comes later…" Warai lifted her hand into the air and used to it to twirl her red hair strands amongst her fingers. "The important thing to know is that the forces devolved into armed camps and eventually the combined powers of both the northern and southern human tribes were able to force them back…After that though…things never really settled down. Each passing generation of your kind grew more and more skilled as they remained in close proximity to the demons…In fact…" Warai now stood, popped her back, turned around and looked directly at Naruto. "They became so used to each other, so close, and so trusting…that they started doing something that no one thought any demon would bring himself to do…" Seeing the now truly curious look on Naruto's face, she smiled and told him. " They interbred."

"WHAT! How is that even possible? I thought your human form was just some illusion?" Shrieked the now confused Naruto.

"No,no,no Naruto-kun, you misunderstand…my human form, what you see now, is very real…but so is my full demon form…They're just something I can interchange in between….Now as for interbreeding…well…yes, some of us were quite shocked as well…then again… others were horrified. If there was ever a thing that broke with tradition with regards to demon clans it was interbreeding. Before, there was practically no tolerance whatsoever even for a different demon type coupling with another…but humans…no, many just couldn't and WOULDN'T accept that."

After sighing Warai continued. " Among us high lords though, it didn't matter all that much…well except for Dento of course…but both Seigi and Uragiri thought it could improve things…On Seigi's part he thought it could bring together a greater sense of unity in the realm…and on Uragiri's side…well…whatever made his forces stronger was a plus…Of course, he felt cheated later…I mean, really, one was big enough of a shock, but to actually see the demon clans then claim the offspring as their own? And then add to that the fact that once they became clan members then THEIR family was also considered clan members…well, you can probably put two and two together… That's basically how the wars ended…with the birth of what your kind now call 'bloodline-limits' ….and don't even looked shocked Naruto. Can you honestly say you didn't see it coming…I mean really, I don't know how your whole race just up and forget their history…it's pitiful…Anyways, as I said , that basically ended the wars…the confrontations couldn't occur anymore because now we, the Kyubi's could step in…after all, clan business was OUR business… "

Pacing in her cage, the fox woman became saddened in her tone. "We thought that we had restored balance once again…that maybe…given enough time, even Dento would cave in on the old ways and we could find some measure of lasting peace…that we had finally ceased the scheming of Uragiri and that things, while not perfect, were good. Civilization was on the upstart again, and even whole clans of hanyou families were forming and coming together here and there…Yes. Things were good…and they stayed as such until Seigi did something that no one even thought was possible, that _defied _the laws of nature as far as demons were concerned…"

"Pshht, What could top creating a rift in between dimensions?" Naruto asked flatly.

"A lot." Was Warai's simple and serious reply. " Naruto-kun, the Ookami , the demon wolves, merely altered an advanced clan technique and poured in a lot of power to rip open the gateway that all the clans used to enter to this realm. What Seigi did was comparable to _creating_ a realm…"

Intersted in the greater demon lord, Naruto asked a question. "Woah, what did he do?"

"He became the first and only ten-tail." Was her reply. Waiting for a reaction Warai sighed and made ANOTHER mental note. 'Scratch talking to the Kage, never tell this story again. It takes too long…' "Naruto-kun, each living being has a set number of gates. These gates are essentially the locked pathways to their inner absolute power and capacity…for humans, this number is eight. No matter how powerful you become, even if you have a bloodline limit and are of demon origin, you can only call upon eight of those gates and even then only seven if you don't wish to die. That's also, Naruto-kun, why they're called bloodline- LIMITS…and as far as marking your strength goes, there's no real change in your appearance to show the level you can reach…For demons it's different. We, by design, have nine gates. Usually, we can only call upon eight full gates at normal and the ninth if we would risk our eternal existence…In status, our tails denote the level of mastery we wield over our own powers…For us, the Kyubis, our nine tails were proof of the fact that we had ventured beyond normal limits and successfully braved the ninth gate…Such a feat is only possible by the most inherently powerful demons…us…but Seigi…he trumped us all one. We had known he was strong, hell, we had even known he was the strongest among our number, but we never knew his absolute depths until he had done it."

"Done what?" was Naruto's simple question.

"Arghhh, weren't you listening when I told you he became the first ten-tail?" she cried.

Seeig his now annoying 'duh huh?' look she barged on. "Fine, oh god, I'll spell it out for you… demons don't have a tenth gate! Seigi MADE one. He literally was able to wield his power and ability to the point that he was able to focus in upon the very fabric of his soul and body and create a tent gate and portal to power…Hell, even I'm not sure how he did it…The best I can guess it was more of his clan's techniques…focused energies and gateways and such…." Warai explained. "BUT what's even more important than that was the fact that it sent one demon lord right off his rocker…"

"Uragiri…" Naruto muttered.

"Correct Naruto-kun…" Warai commented in a vicious tone with regards to the scorpion demon. "If there was anything that pissed that scorpion off it was the knowledge that there was a being out there of equal or superior power to him…While we were all nine-tails he could stroke his ego and rest easy knowing that he had as much a chance in battle as the rest of us… but now that comfort was gone and Seigi clearly had an advantage over the rest of us…Where as we could risk tapping the ninth gate for power in a struggle, HE could actively use it now without fear…and THAT knowledge was what constituted the substance of what pissed Uragiri off the most: fear. He loathed it…or rather, to feel it that is. He got a kick out of dishing it out, but reviled it in return…Anyways, what's once again important is the knowledge that he set out to rectify that problem… and find a way, a weakness, as it were with Seigi… and… the… means… by which to destroy him…"

Now wary of a Warai in tears, Naruto stuttered out a question." D..Did he find it….?"

Once again sitting with her back to the bars, Warai summoned the strength to answer and continue on. Past sobs and struggles she answered.

"…yes…"

100010010001 0101010 0101010101010 010101001 01010101 010101010 010101010 01010101 0101010 101001

Whooo boy, that was a long one….my fingers are practically bleeding on the keyboard (insert sarcasm). Seriously though, I had an outline of the history and when I finally got down to writing it I found a surprisingly detailed sotry in the back of my brain….and here it is. TA-DA. I'm looking forward to getting the time to finish this intro arc and getting into the real meat and potatoes of this fic soon. I suppose it'll be one more ending chapter for the downfall of the demon age, and the escape from the mad villagers…after that will be a little filler of sorts with some skill oriented sequences… an then a lovely breakdancing sequence that will be twenty pages long. Ha ha ha, just kidding 'peers into soul of reader' or am I?...yes I am.

Anywho, to address one disturbing post. No, there was no implied rape of Naruto. Let me spell it out for you. Broken fingers, stabs, burns, acids , etc…and as for the Hokage and Anbu… They could only do so much with the staff on hand and the politival environment. Come on, the Kyubi was like an atom bomb on Konoha (dramatized for metaphorical puposes) and the council as well as the general populace were not exactly in a forgiving mood. Once again, as for the Hokage, he needed to see about repairing the village's infrastructure and heart. To do that, he needed to have the heart of the people. There's no way (I think) he could've really done that if he was close to Naruto. They just would've said he was being controlled by the boy…..BUT don't worry. Something concerning the villagers will show up in a little while…

WELLZ, thanks again for the reviews and flames. Madnarutofan is….OUT.

NEXT TIME: The End of An Age, A New Beginning


	6. Chapter 6

DISCLAMIER:………yeah……

I

DON'T

OWN

'NARUTO' DAMN IT!

/ ………. / ………… / ……….. / …………. / …………. / ……….. / ………… / ………

'never alone'

Ch.6 – The End of an Age, A New Beginning

---LAST TIME---

…_**..he set out to rectify that problem… and find a way, a weakness, as it were with Seigi… and… the… means… by which to destroy him…"**_

_**Now wary of a Warai in tears, Naruto stuttered out a question." D..Did he find it….?"**_

_**Once again sitting with her back to the bars, Warai summoned the strength to answer and continue on. Past sobs and struggles she answered.**_

"…**_yes…" _**

/ ………. / ………… / ……….. / …………. / …………. / ………..

Silence reigned as Naruto sat in contemplation of Warai's affirmation and now wholly caught up in the tale; he chose to press for answers…. " Warai...wh..what happened?"

" From….from what we learned …..Afterwards…" Warai paused while obviously reliving painful memories. "In…in… the initial stages of his coup….Uragiri had approached Dento and his clans about joining forces and crushing Seigi. He argued that with Seigi's new power it would only be a matter of time before he would try and take over the other territories…that to preserve the power and dignity of the Ryu he had to put him down….It…it was a compelling argument ….but…it didn't work out. Dento…Dento was just as wary as I about Seigi's new power… the balance of power had been broken and… if he had wished… we knew he could probably conquer us….BUT…but he also knew Seigi personally just as I did…….. that he was trustworthy, honorable, and a friend… that he believed in justice and never once had he attacked out of aggression …….Dento knew as did I that, yes, he was powerful….but no…he was not a threat… With that in mind he …turned down Uragiri…"

"...so Dento _didn't_ help the scorpion?" asked Naruto.

Not receiving an answer for quite some time, Naruto crawled towards the gate and put his arm on Warai's kimono covered shoulder. "Warai?"

"…no…" she whispered. "…not at first…but…som..something came up…" Naruto was about to ask what happened once again when she lifted her chin and, while looking into his eyes, continued. "Uragiri…had been furious when Dento turned him down….he knew that with nothing more than the power of his own forces against Seigi's, victory was impossible……..so…he schemed on how to turn Dento against him……..He…he tried a few measly plans here and there…but nothing ever stuck……Dento just wouldn't buy it…" Warai paused to look away and stare into the black of her cage. "Eventually he gathered that if it he was going to sway Dento and his clans he'd need to find it in the one point that neither Seigi nor I could ever sway Dento, a topic with which he was fanatical…….he would have to find …something… that had to do with the breaking of clan law and contracts…more specifically…something that had to do with interbreeding…'

"but wait…I thought you said it ended the war… didn't that mean Dento's clan and the snakes and serpents interbred as well?" Naruto questioned.

"Them?" She replied in a tired and sarcastic manner with one eye brow raised. " I _don't_ think so…Oh it ended the war alright…but you have to remember who was fighting the war…It was essentially Seigi's tribes and my northern tribes versus Uragiri's from the west…Dento was never actively involved in the combat." Sensing a lack of understanding and a need for more information, she continued. "What was the reason for him training his own forces? Well that one's quite easy…there was the combination of a potential threat in other trained humans and the possible loss of territory like what happened to Seigi and I…….but…what was more important to the Ryu than even territory was …pride … it was no secret by then that we had come to pride ourselves on the power and advancement of the humans underneath us… and Dento always was a bit full of himself …always bragging about the dragons and such and what their humans were like….….but….As for going back to the inter-mixing, no…..like I said earlier….Dento was a stickler for clan law…and can you ever believe THAT was against the law……Such things were entirely forbidden to his own clan…despite how some of them felt…and as for the snakes and serpents…well…it wasn't his clan, it was his alliance. They were free to do as they pleased…though it was looked down upon harshly…"

Now confused, Naruto spoke. "Okay I get that now…but what would hanyous and law have to do with Seigi…I mean…I got it that Seigi thought it was great for them to mix and all and that Dento didn't …but you also said if it wasn't inside HIS clan it didn't matter…so how could that help Uragiri?…"

"Naruto…do you remember…what I told you earlier about the laws being created by the four of us…that in return for the binding contract for the protection of humans and established order on this plane we had to acquiesce to the demands of both Uragiri and Dento?" Warai asked.

"ummm..yeah?" he replied in an obviously 'yeah, so?' manner.

"Dento and his clan's demands…well…they were related to clan laws and the balance of power in the new world. The Ryu were a very ancient clan of demons back on the home plane. There they held considerable power …and…upheld equal prejudice……for …Dento… to gain enough power and support within his own clan to overthrow his predecessor…he had to make promises, promises to uphold those older prejudices and maintain the purity of demon rule… those promises focused on the preservation of the demonic clan lines… The Ryu wanted a known power structure…something…absolute and inescapable… They feared that the other clans cut off from the demon plane would join forces and through breeding as well as the sharing of clan techniques, consolidate their power … This…this was not something they wanted…and like I said…we had to agree to their demands for the greater good." Warai explained in a resigned manner before she began anew.

"_This_ is the reason I told you Uragiri, Seigi, and myself were banned from teaching humans our clan seals. The law we agreed to for Dento's sake stated many things. First was the fact that while clan _members_ were allowed to mix if they should so choose, clan LEADERS were limited to pure blood mates within their own clan… or WERE permitted to mix if they would step aside for another to take their place… As for we, the Kyubi, and our clans? Well, we couldn't step aside…we were the absolutes in the new world…….the…consequences… for us breaking the contract were the total voiding of the binding contract…and possibly the start of the wars once again…" Warai paused to take a breath and collect her thoughts on the issue.

"The passage of clan techniques also fell into these laws… The clans were not to share their techniques with any demon outside their own clan in the first place…The only ones that WERE permitted were the ones that might've been bound in by mating…As for the humans…" Warai's mouth tugged up into what might be a small smile. "Uragiri was not the only one to play the law….Seigi and I both clearly understood that for our minor clans there was room to bend the laws. It stated they weren't supposed to share with other _demons_….it never made ANY sort of mention of humans… Apparently, the Higher Ryu never thought that one up...but…but for us…the Kyubi……things were not the same…" What once might have become a smile on Warai's tear stained cheeks died quickly. " Like our future mates…we were to teach absolutely no one from outside our clan our techniques…even then…because they were of the Kyubi, our own personal techniques were to be shared only with our mates or children, those who would possibly become the next Kyubi should something happen to any one of us…As for our clan techniques in general, like I said, they were not for those from outside the clan….In fact, should a member bring in a mate from outside the clan of the particular Kyubi…the new member and their progeny were never to be taught the skills of the clan…………it was wholly unfair and limiting….but…..this…this is what we agreed to….this is what was law….and this is what Uragiri needed to be broken." Warai finished while wiping yet another tear from her eye.

"You said that he found what he needed earlier…so …what happened? Did someone else finally teach an Ookami or some other demon skill to another clan's member or human …or did one of the demon lords marry and refuse to step down? What happened?" Naruto pressed, now hungry for the truth.

"…yes.." was Warai's cryptic answer.

"What do you mean by yes? Was it one or the other?"

"…both…"

"What? Who?"

"…who do you think…" was Warai's near silent reply.

Naruto pondered it for a moment in silence. 'An infraction so great that it would lead to war? A leader that would refuse to leave his position after taking an outside mate? Someone that would teach techniques to outsiders? Who could it be….A regular lord would just step down rather than bringing war to Seigi after he had taken them in…A regular lord wouldn't risk teaching his techniques at the possible cost of a war….Whoever did it…they thought they could either stand toe to toe with the kyubi …or that they wouldn't mind…that they'd just bite the bullet….Who would be so arrogant as to think they could take on the Kyubi?...what kind of….' Naruto stopped in mid thought as some pieces clicked together. '…oh no…the one who was attacked…the one who Uragiri wanted to crush…the one that became the most powerful demon on the plane and the actually still trusted those around him to the point that he thought they could be reasoned with….'

'Seigi'

He was nearly stunned into silence when his brows rose in shock and the truth dawned on him. Still, he managed to stutter out a few words. " Wha what! I thought you said if a Kyubi were to break those laws then total war could erupt because of the Ryu's strictness on tradition! Seigi…Seigi knew the rules! Why would he do that? How…how did it happen? Who did he do it with?"

Warai stretched her arms and legs out and leaned back against the gates as Naruto waited impatiently for an answer. After seeing him spaz somewhat and gathering her own thoughts and feelings on the issue through the painful memoires, Warai spoke. "He did it…because… he was in love….he did it because he had faith in the goodness of others… and he did it because he believed in his own strength…"

"But!" Naruto began only to be cut off by Warai.

"No Naruto…he…wasn't wrong. Seigi did so much for those around him…and his heart was pure… He honestly thought that even Dento would allow his interbreeding with enough pressure and argument…that given enough time he could plead his case and try for the changing of the contract…but Naruto…like I said …he thought wrong……especially so once it was discovered WHO he had taken as his mate…a human woman of all people…" Warai's eyes closed and her visage went neutral just as Naruto's eyes grew in size and his face contorted. Before he could stutter out his reaction though, she resumed. "…his…'mate' was indeed a human woman. Apparently, after spending so much time amongst your people trying to bring both sides together, he became fond of your kind…very fond. In particular, his fondness grew into affection during the wars… He saw the strength and potential of your kind…what could be with a little effort and instruction" Warai paused and turned her head to make sure Naruto had taken what she'd said so far. "He fell in love with your people first…it was only a matter of time before actually took one your kind for his own…and…eventually, it happened. While he could not teach techniques himself, he could observe their training and point out small things, the basics as they were, and how to improve them. It was during one of these occasions that he met a young woman training with the Toad clan…and no, she wasn't a hanyou to any sort of degree… I suppose it was during his 'pointing out' session that he grew to like her and she him… from…from…what Gamabunta told me, he was so taken with her that he actually began to secretly train her in the ways of the Ookami and not just any Ookami, but indeed his own personal skills…and that…from there…things just skyrocketed off..."

The fox demon now turned fully around and sat in a meditative position as Naruto move to mimic her. "They were able to keep it secret for many years…even when they were wed…but …eventually it was impossible to hide any longer. It just can't be done…not when there's a hanyou baby born with all the marks of the Ookami…….so…it was only a matter of time before word was leaked, despite his alliance's efforts to keep the knowledge suppressed."

"so…did they attack as soon as they heard…?" asked Naruto.

"…**no..they didn't…"** Warai replied as the glowing, crimson color in her eyes increased in its intensity. " As soon as Uragiri found out he planned his scheme and then set to work….he didn't want to take any chances against the power of a ten-tail so he first contacted Manda to come up with the right way to manipulate Dento... After speaking with one another and figuring out how to do it best, they set out….Their goal…was no longer just the defeat of Seigi and the Ookami…they…they wanted to destroy his entire country and alliance…they…wanted to murder his clans, enslave his humans, and take over the northern lands for themselves…"

Warai snarled before speaking through tight lips. " They ….they went to Dento…and he agreed to go to war…he was…infuriated…just as they had hoped…and it took only a few small efforts to convince him of the need for the destruction of the north in its entirety. Their …final… argument… was against Seigi's own offspring and its possible power…they were fearful of the possibilities…after all…if Seigi was able to transcend the limits of a demon, would they be able to transcend the limits of humanity? Would it be possible for a human to obtain a ninth gate? Would they soon be greeted by humans with the powers of nine-tailed lords?" Warai stopped and clenched her eys shut. Turning face down she ended. " …that was all it took for them to sentence Seigi, his family, and his people to death…"

Warai stayed silent as her fists clenched and her teeth grinded against each other. She was angry, very angry, and it showed… It's hard to miss bright red flames shooting off someone after all… Naruto sat in between a mixture of fear, awe, and mortification. As the flames began to lessen in their intensity she growled out the full measure of Uragiri's plan.

" It didn't take long for them to come up with something that utilized their full power… Their… strategy… was to attack the Ookami first while unprepared with the full measure of their forces and crush Seigi and then move on a genocidal campaign against the other clans… or… Have their forces hold him back until his family could be secured and…well…I think you can guess the rest…"

"Is…Is THAT what happened?" Naruto questioned unsurely.

Warai's grimace shifted somewhat into a foreboding snarl before she replied.

"No, not exactly…it seems that even some insects have honor… One of Uragiri's underlords, Katsuya of the Snails, was disgusted by Uragiri's plot and warned Seigi and his people of the coming storm… it wasn't much, but it at least allowed them a short time to scramble their forces beforehand and…and…well…they…they were able to prepare to some degree…"

Warai's flames now fully rescinded and sense of depression and grief became apparent in her demeanor.

"When…they finally did attack… Seigi and his boys were already waiting for them…" Warai gave a dark chuckle. "Oh yes, they got one _hell_ of a surprise when the sneak attack turned into a trap."

Warai lifted her face too look Naruto in the eyes.

" Seigi may have been trusting, but he wasn't an idiot to any degree. He knew that as soon as Dento had agreed to the genocide the battle wasn't about territory or even pride any more. It was a fight…a struggle...for survival and the right to exist on this world…It was then that any thoughts about pulling punches or a defensive campaign stopped completely. It was kill or be killed. So…he set up his forces for maximum leverage and efficiency. He had them fight their natural enemies. He ordered the lord of the birds to take his kin and duel against the spiders. The wolves and dogs were to face off against the dragons and serpents. The frogs under lord Gamabunta along with the defector Katsuya and his kind were positioned to take on the Mantis and Snakes… As for Seigi himself…he…he had to battle with both Dento, Uragiri, and the entirety of the scorpion clan…and…all…all…by himself…" Warai finished in tears with her eyes once more to the floor though this time they did not rise once more.

"Wait a minute! What about you Warai? I thought you were his friend and stuff? How come you didn't help them? Was it because you were worried about your own people or that they didn't want to go or what?" Naruto asked confusedly.

"Oh god Naruto…I…I …I wish I could say that…I…I want to say that… but…but …" Warai trailed off as she burst into open sobbing and hugged her knees. Naruto didn't know what to do. The fox woman had been nice to him, had seemed deeply regretful about her actions, and had been spilling out her whole life story. He was just so confused. He was usually so lonely that having anyone willingly talk to him without insult was a real treat, but…this woman was the demon that caused that. Should he comfort her? He had placed his hand upon her shoulder before to steady her in hopes of hearing what had happened…but he still hadn't heard exactly why…perhaps…perhaps a little more and the truth would come out. It didn't really matter either to a certain point if she had caused his pain anyways…he had made a promise to himself, on the same level of his dream to become hokage, to help those in pain. To do for others what none would do for him……. Also… it didn't hurt that she already could've killed him, but chose not to…With that in mind, he slowly approached the cage, turned to the side, and pushed through…

Warai was already in sorrow after having drug up so many painful memories, but…having to recall her own part it in hurt so much more… It reminded her of her first great failure and then of those after….She probably would've stayed a wreck much longer if it hadn't been for the sensation of thin arms wrapping themselves around her body. Completely surprised by the physical contact, She abruptly stopped her sobbing as tears continued to slide down her cheeks. Looking down she saw exactly what she had felt, the thin arms of a child… "Na Naruto-kun ?" she stuttered out.

"Listen Warai…it's…it's okay. You…you still haven't told me why…but having learned all that I have so far…and by judging your character I…I don't think you're so bad. I…I am still angry with you yes, but I …I think you really are sorry. I… haven't completely forgiven you yet…but I also think…that with time…I might… so…please… Warai. Don't cry…if you…don't want to tell me what happened now…it's okay. I'm not going anywhere anyways…but…if you do want to continue, the easiest way to get it out is to just spill it and then deal with it…"

"Oh Naruto." Warai cried out as she took him into her own arms and hugged him tightly. "Thank you Naruto…thank you…I…I think I can continue now…." Warai released her embrace as a now red-faced Naruto backed away from her and moved to brace his back against the cage. Warai took notice of his coloration and blushed a bit herself after realizing what she had done. Moving back to the topic of conversation, however, sobered her up quickly. She was nearly in tears all over again as she began to speak, but maintained her composure to 'simply spill it out' for Naruto…With that, she started once again.

"Seigi…he…faced them alone…because I would not come to help him… Uragiri hadn't just planned to get Dento to work with him…he had also worked to keep me from helping Seigi…and…he succeeded….Why Naruto? Why wouldn't I help him?...It…it was because I was bitter and I…I felt betrayed myself…" Warai paused to calm her nerves and keep from breaking down. "Before…before we came over… Seigi and I…we were already very close…we…we both reached our powers as nine-tails together…we…both spent so much time together…we started to become intimate, involved with one another…but…but when we came…we had to separate to keep the balance… As I said earlier…the laws…those DAMN laws we agreed to… kept us apart… Over time Seigi…he moved on…but I…I never did… I always thought that some day, the laws might be changed so that we could be near one another again…it was what I hoped for…….when I found out about Seigi and his wife…I …I was heartbroken…I…was so angry I didn't even think about what I was doing….He…he came to me for help Naruto…he…begged me Naruto. He BEGGED me to help save his family and people…and….and I said no…My people, the Tanuki and the bears…the inu and Ookami were their friends and in some cases family…they wanted to help save them…….. when I said no many were disgusted. They cried out and yet I refused…Eventually I gave in to their pleas….but by then….by then…it…was too late…" Warai looked upwards to try and keep herself from crying anymore.

"The battles were all over… the spiders had mostly won against the birds though both sides had sustained heavy losses… The Frogs had managed to force Manda and his kin to flea while the Mantis were wiped out… and the battle between the wolves,dogs, dragons, and serpents…." Naruto could see tears streaming down Warai's face despite her upturned chin. "There…were bodies everywhere Naruto… The Dragons had been fanatical while the Wolves had fought for their homes and family…they…they tore each other to pieces …there were barely any left alive and…none left whole…it…it was horrible. A massacre, the likes of which had not been seen since the darkest days of the demon world…Between the dogs and serpents…losses were not nearly so great…but the majority were casualties on the side of the serpents…As…as for Dento,Uragiri, the scorpions, and Seigi…….by the time I got there Uragiri was already dead, the scorpions were also all but destroyed, and …Dento and Seigi both were taking their last breaths…" Seeing their faces and hearing their voices travel through her thoughts, Warai stopped only to start again a second later. " Dento was heaving…but he would last a little longer while Seigi…Seigi was spent and moments from death…he …had his wife next to him crying over his body. When…he saw me… he signaled me to come to him…he…he begged me to protect his family…to make sure that they'd be okay through hthe times that were coming…after that…the strain of the tenth gate proved too much for him…and…Seigi died…….I wanted to weep, to say I was sorry, but any apology would've been meaningless…If I had come…then… there was the chance his death could've been avoided… so…I kept my grief inside and went to Dento…" Warai's shoulders slumped as the explanation of Seigi and Dento's final moments began.

"In the end…he was sorry for what he had done to Seigi…that…that is where I learned of all that happened…of all of Uragiri's scheming and…of the battles… how they got Seigi… He told me that while He and Uragiri used eight gates worth each to hold back Seigi, the scorpions went for his family…He…he realized the only way to save his family was to use his tenth gate…His tenth tail was proof that he had survived before…but when he had to face off against the two others and THEY had activated THEIR ninth gate…things only went down hill…Apparently, most of the scorpions were actually slaughtered from errant techniques and collateral damage…but the ones that neared his family had been utterly crushed… As for Seigi's injuries…when…Seigi moved to protect his family…Uragiri was able to poison him with all nine of his tails…….even for him it meant death…."

By now, Warai was once again greatly upset but she carried on. "After the war…I was the only Kyubi left…it was up to me to become the high lord and leader of the plane….but… I just didn't have it in me any longer. I promised to protect Seigi's family and that was all that I intended to do forever more… When I refused to take the lead….I also left my own clan to do as it would…I left my own sister Tala in charge…as for the other clans…my own were disgusted with me and the other's were broken irreparably. With that…then end of the age of demon alliances and rule came to an end… the clans separated and went their separate ways. My bears traveled into what you now call the lightning country, the Tanuki traveled west to crush what was left of Uragir's alliance in the Wind country, and the Kitsune…they roamed free. The same sort of story occurred with all the others demon clans… They either picked up and moved or stayed on to instruct their hanyou kin and clans… As for the Ryu…as per Dento's dying declaration…their clan laws were abolished for what few remained…he wished only for them to live freely and happily…Many of them…felt a need to atone for their past sins and THAT is how your people obtained the seal of the Ryu… More or less…this established the structure of what your world is now…though with minimal changes and trends"

"So…did you stay on and protect what was left of the Ookami and Seigi's family?"

Warai was quiet and didn't answer Naruto until he spoke up again to gain her attention.

"Warai?"

"Sorry…but…yes…I…I tried to..for a while…"

"tried?" Naruto questioned carefully.

"Things…things didn't work out the way they were supposed to… I…I was still feared as a Kyubi, but it wasn't enough to keep certain individuals away. With the new order becoming dependent on bloodlines…many feared the potential strength of Seigi's child… and the other possible children of the Ookami…they wanted to get rid of the threat before it materialized… while we were still weak and I was still grieving….I… I couldn't save them Naruto…" Warai burst into heaving sobs and coughs once again. " I…I failed him again Naruto… he died for them and I…let it be in vain…"

"It's okay Warai…" Naruto comforted her as he moved to hug her once again.

"No…no it's not Naruto…" she cried. "when the clans attacked I… moved out to face them… I didn't think about it being a decoy…when I got back I couldn't find them anywhere Naruto…they were gone…the only ones I saw were a pack of wounded hanyou retreating……I… knew they were dead… Seigi's wife had been strong…to be able to fight so many and to actually seriously wound so many as well…but she was only human…she had her limits…She couldn't have survived……I was angry then and slaughtered the party and moved back to save what few Ookami were left only to find none of them alive either… I…I had failed them so miserably Naruto…Seigi…I … failed him in every way possible… the world of peace he envisioned with demons and humans living and working beside one another was lost…and it…it…didn't even end there… Bloodline wars ran rampant as a race began for domination and whole clans were being wiped out… that's why there aren't that many bloodlines around now… they were killed… I tried desperately to restore order…but the world had turned into a living hell."

"Wh..what did you do Warai?"

"I did the only thing I thought I could do to preserve some hope for the world he had wanted… a world of peace for humans…I gathered the clans and forcibly sent them back to the demon realm… Then … I put a seal on the rift and made it so that only through a special ritual of invitation could demons once again walk this world…it's what you humans call summoning now……Since then, the only demons that have walked this world have been myself, a few errant lords that refused to go and ran, and some that were summoned occasionally…"

"What happened to you when you were left all alone Warai?"

"After all that had happened Naruto? I was just too sad…too depressed, too caught up in my grief to deal with the world any longer…As soon as it was stabilized I retreated to my lair here in the Fire country…and…I went to sleep… At the time…I was hoping that I would never wake up…."

"Why did you wake up then?"

Silence reigned.

"Warai?"

Warai pulled herself away from Naruto moved a small distance away from him.

"…I…was summoned…" she replied darkly as the flames of her anger appeared once more. " I was summoned out of my lair, forcibly awakened from my slumber, by a human who would seek my power… I…I'm not quite sure how he did it… when I placed the seal on the rift I never imagined that your kind would learn how to manipulate its energies with your own to such a degree that it would be possible for you to summon things as well as people across this plane…I had only created it lock my kind out…I never imagined the power it would yield within… he…the human… he used it to call me into a chamber he had prepared… He had even managed to procure demonic binding seals… they held me at bay so I was able to see …wh…what he …ha had done …t-to get me there…he must've perverted a summoning contract from somewhere…reverse engineered it in some way to discover its roots and the way in which to summon whatever he would desire…he…he had called my own family… the Kitsune… out from the home plane…and…worked his way up through the ranks…" Warai's anger rose to new heights as her demonic features intensified and she punde her first against the ground making the sounds of contact reverberate throughout the enclosure. " They were CHILDREN Naruto…he…called the kits …and tortured them to give incentive for their parents to come when he called them…he…worked through my whole family Naruto just so he could sap them of their life energy and power so that he could summon me to use for his own plans…. I …saw their bodies Naruto…the first thing I saw after waking up from the failure of my friends and loved one was the massacre of my FAMILY…I saw my…sister dead…I could…tell…she had struggled against the seals, but even for a five-tail they were too much……the seals were complex…far too complex for any human to have known…but…he had them……I would've been completely under his power as well if I had not been at least an eight-tail…" Warai slammed her knuckles against the ground once more as her nine tails came to move and pummel the ground and bars much the same way. "**THAT FOOL! THAT MONSTER! HOW COULD HE HAVE DONE THAT!**"

Warai sat shaking in fury until her demeanor calmed some what once more and her dark, cold voice emitted out through the cage…

"He got one hell of a surprise when I was able to break the seals and make a move towards him…he didn't stick around long though…he ran as soon as he knew I was uncontrollable…I don't why he was so surprised, he should've known that those demon seals were known to incite rage and mental imbalance in their targets… and…after he slaughtered the only precious people I had left in either world what did he really think I was going to do?...He actually thought that I, the Kyubi no Kitsune would be stopped by such a thing and bow down to him AFTER THAT? Hmmphh. Arrogance…it only slowed me down….and…I…I wanted revenge…so…so badly… I could taste it…I wanted to make him and everything he cherished suffer…not just for my clan…but for everything that I'd seen…I wanted to lose my self in destruction and become fury incarnate… I wasn't right in the mind completely…but..I…I WANTED to do it…so I … I followed him for weeks through Fire Country to Konoha …your home… when I got there and saw who lived in the village… my fury only grew even more …….Konoha's proud bloodline…the HYUGA…they…were different, but I still recognized them… they… they were the ones who had attacked Seigi's family… I saw them and I thought that the massacre of MY family had been only another play for power… I …I wanted revenge even more then… I wanted to destroy the whole city for not just my own family now ….but Seigi's as well… I wanted closure….and so…I attacked…"

Naruto was now sitting with his own back to the bars and his arms held round his knees. Warai sat a ways downs looking at him, trying to pick up on his body signals while he was in thought… Would he accept her?... She wondered…

'So…so that's what happened…" Naruto thought. "She…lost everyone she ever cared about… she failed the one she cared about most, then she failed him again in his last wish and the protection of his dreams, and THEN she was awakened only to learn that what little she had left in this world or the other had been taken from her… She was overcome with grief and anger … and… she said that the seals that had held her affected her mind in a way……..but she also said that she HAD wanted to attack, to do what she did…. And now she's sorry though… She said she was sorry because of what has happened to me… I wonder… why? … well, I guess I ought to say something…'

"Warai… I… I can understand now what happened… If I ever had anyone precious to me … and they were taken away … I would be angry and probably want revenge too…but what you did was wrong and nearly unforgivable…"

Warai's somewhat hopeful plummeted. "I… I can understand you also Naruto-kun … I wouldn't forgive me either if I was you … after everyth…"

"BUT " Naruto interrupted. " You have said your apology, you have trusted me with the truth, and you have shown sorrow… both for what you did… and for what has happened to me… so… I guess no major hard feelings…"

"but…why Naruto?" Warai asked with barely restrained tears in her eyes.

"Because… I made another promise to myself Warai… that… I would help others in pain. That I would do for others what no would do for me … and…you, Warai… definitely fit that bill… You were hurt just as badly as anyone in the attack … and the Leaf nin was foolish enough to track you into the village and use his comrades as shields for his actions…Konoha was a victim of circumstance…. Also, the truth is… I … I can't find any real faults in you that I couldn't see happening in myself…"

"OH THANK YOU NARUTO!" Warai cried out in joy as she grabbed NAruto and took him into a tight embrace once more…though this time his face was unfortunately muzzled deep into her…'mounds'. As the tears of joy swept down her face Warai noticed that Naruto had gone unusually silent… "Naruto-kun?" she asked unsurely. "Naruto?" she asked once again. It was then that she looked down and realized what was happening. With a shriek she pulled back and a blue faced Naruto gasped for breath.

/ ………. / ………… / ……….. / …………. / …………. / ………..

Whoo hooh. Got that over with… It took me forever to figure out exactly how that was going to go, but damn, this chapter felt like it had no end. Personally, I felt it was too long, but I didn't think anyone would want to read my fic anymore if it ended up as the first 30,000 words being nothing but intro! I sure as hell wouldn't. GAH! Well, as to what happens next? The long-awaited meat and potatoes of course! I'm still considering exactly who to have him perform one activity with I have in mind…

I won't tell you if it's a pairing or not, but just b/w us… it's not. Okay? Just vote for:

T or H

That simple neh? Trust me; you're probably not expecting what will come of that little vote. AND, if only like 2-3 people vote on it? Well, hurray for them! Now, as to answering questions…

I can't.

Or at least I'm not supposed to… Doesn't that suck? Well, to be perfectly honest, I'd just ignore that little rule anyways. The truth is I can't remember any question at the moment… so negative hurray for me. Well that about does it… This Madnarutofan – OVER / OUT.


	7. Chapter 7

DISCLAIMER: Every time I write this dislaimer…. a small part of my soul dies…. I don't own Naruto… just all that junk you spent the last few chaps reading about…

'never alone'

CH.7

It was once again a beautiful day in Konoha. The sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing, and the people were out in throngs enjoying the pleasant warmth of the sun and a steady breeze. If not for a few tell tale signs of danger, death, and destruction, no one would ever be able to tell that things were far from perfect. For instance, in one remote corner of Konoha, smoke still wafted up into the air in huge pillars as the last vestiges of what was once a housing complex smoldered. Not too far from that complex and another large pile of ash and debris lay one Uzumaki Naruto…

As the sun's heat began to beat down upon his covering of trash, Naruto started to stir. Sitting up slightly while wiping the sleep from his eyes, Naruto smiled as the events of the night before ran through his mind.

Kyubi, seals, an age of demons long gone by, bloodlines, and Warai…

All these things ran through his mind and he continued to smile despite the fact that his home was destroyed and what few earthly possessions he'd acquired had also been lost. He smiled because he now knew something that warmed his heart more than anything else had ever done.

He learned that he had never been alone.

He had learned that someone had actually always been there. That someone had seen every thing…

That someone cared…

It felt great.

When did he learn this? Only after he had 'disengaged' himself from Warai's 'features' of course. She had told him all of her inner feelings, about how she felt miserable for what had happened to him, how she had grown to care for him and how she was saddened that she had only been able to heal him by flooding him with her chakra, how she admired his determination, and most importantly…

How she wanted to help with his dreams.

'Yep' he concluded to himself. 'It's pretty kick-ass to have an eons old demon that wants to help you out!'

He was giddy with excitement. He couldn't wait to learn more about everything she'd told him. He also couldn't wait to USE what she'd shown him…

It appeared that Warai had been rather studious in her observations of the other ninja around Naruto through his memories and as such she had taken great care in learning their techniques in the hopes that one day she could share them with Naruto. To both of their delights, that day had come... to a point at least.

He still remembered her other instructions …

(scene change)

_Warai put one hand on Naruto's shoulder as he got ready to travel back outside the cage and into the real world. " Remember Naruto, I've only taught you the most basic principles of chakra and the henge technique and even then your control isn't all that great. Don't think you can take on anyone… They'll mob you and then even all my abilities won't be able to heal you completely… Your best bet is to make it into the Hokage's tower through disguise and wait for him there in secret before any of the nins in the group consider the possibility of you using ninjutsu… You're on a timer… be safe, okay?_

_Naruto grinned at his new friend and gave her a quick hug._

"_Don't worry Warai-chan I'll be careful. I know you only showed me the absolutely most basic stuff and since I've never really molded my chakra into anything it won't be that good, but I ought to be able to do it enough to pass if I'm quick. Now as for the training thing… How come you want me to try and get the old man to teach me stuff too when I have you? "_

"_Listen Naruto, right now we've made contact and that's great… but from here on out, we'll only be able to speak and meet through your dreams when you're asleep. That's just not going to do for serious training. I'd have to be able to speak to you consistently through your mind to give you all the pointers and information you'd need and even then, I'm inside your body. I can't see if you have the correct stance or anything… the most I can do for right now is to observe your memories and comment to you on your performance when you sleep. Later, maybe we'll see about altering the seal a little… I don't want to mess with it too much, you can never be sure when the Shinigami are involved…" Warai trailed off momentarily._

" _Anyways, it's obvious you need to learn to protect yourself. Even IF the hokage goes out and executes or arrests all of the mob members, there's going to be a lot of bad blood about this. The fact is… you're always going to be under fire for one reason or another as my container… You need to learn to protect yourself now…and… when you do, you'll be preparing yourself for my own training later on..."_

_Warai broke off into evil laughter as lightning randomly flashed behind her in the cage. Subsequently, Naruto sweat dropped._

_Coming back to her senses, Waria continued on. " Seriously though Naruto, I want to help you become the strongest nin ever to walk this earth and to make sure your dream becomes true….but you're just too weak right now to undergo my type of training… you need to build up first. Besides,I already gave you a good reason to use with the old man… just kind of tweak it when you need to or something…and don't forget, I want to you to specifically ask for someone to help teach you the basics of swordsmanship…okay?"_

_Naruto looked down, nodded his head, and continued on out of the cage. Turning his head just slightly, he called out and waved a goodbye as he disappeared…_

(scene change)

Quietly closing the door to the hokage's office behind him, a young chunin vanished into smoke revealing the form of a blonde seven year old.

'Hmmm, that wasn't as hard as I thought. I guess no one even…'

Naruto's thoughts were cut off as he heard a few mumbled voices and the movement of approaching feet near the door to the hokage's chambers. Thinking quickly (spazzing out) he did the only thing that seemed logical to any other seven year old. He jumped about four feet into the air and then scurried off to hide behind the old man's desk….

The door opened and one brown haired jounin c and one black haired chunin entered.

"Listen to me Kansanshi, there's no way he's in here. We were watching this place the whole time in case he forgot the Hokage was out of town and tried to come here for safety or something, the dumb brat…Listen, The only person that left the area was some drunk that happened to be sleeping behind a bunch of garbage! The damn demon brat was probably somewhere hidden in the complex we all torched."

"But…but…. The byakugan found no trace of…."

"Bullshit, and you know it…The Hyuga aren't really all seeing… and besides, with everything that was going on, I clearly doubt that they were completely focused. Plus, as hot as those fires were… do you really think even his ashes would be left?"

"but…"

"Listen, I'll stay and keep watch myself… Alright? "

"…are you sure?" Kasanshi questioned. When he received a nod he smiled. "okay then."

And with that both stepped outside as Naruto let out a small sigh of relief.

(scene break)

To say the least, the Sandaime Hokage was pissed. How pissed you ask? Why, pissed enough that the overwhelming waves of killing intent rolling off of him were more than enough to cause the weaker captured nins and villagers involved with the attack on Naruto to pass out.

He had just returned from a meeting with the Kazekage of the Sand and what is the first thing he find when returning home?

Murderous mobs out in force…

A housing complex left in ruins…

The aftermath of a bonfire that had once made up the few comforts of a lonely child's life…

And a missing child…possibly dead…if not likely.

Gathering his wits and considering the facts at hand the Sandaime Hokage spoke to the Wolf masked ANBU member beside him.

"Kakashi-san…I am doubtful as to what you will find but…" The older man trailed off as his desperation and hopelessness surfaced.

Thankfully, the wolf-masked ANBU known as Hatake Kakashi interjected…

"No problem Hokage-sama it's the least I could do for him now… all things considered…" Kakashi himself trailed off as memories bounced aroubd in his head. " I will take three squads to scour the city. If he is still alive and in the village we will find him."

"Thank you…Kakashi…"

The ANBU made no further remark as he backed up slightly and then vanished in a puff of smoke.

Moving wearily towards his desk the old man couldn't help but let out a shudder as he considered the grim possibilities of Naruto's fate.

'Was it worth it?' he thought to himself. 'Was the security and unity of this village worth the life of an innocent… worth the life of a child? I allowed so much to go on unchecked merely because I needed to maintain absolute faith in my capabilities as their leader… to maintain their trust… but what have I really done? Yes, I kept their faith ..by…turning a mostly blind eye… and I have restored the village mostly but…now what? Isn't it the truth that I abandoned the one person in Konoha who needed me more than anyone else…that I have failed HIM in every way. You wanted him to be a hero Arashi… not a daily sacrifice to the hate and anger of Konoha…I…am sorry…"

With that last thought, the old man sat himself down behind his desk. Moving his chair forward he came across something blocking his way.

'What in the devil could that be?' the old man pondered. As he finally brought himself to look underneath his desk, his heart swelled with joy and his eyes filled with tears as he gazed down upon the form of a drooling blonde. 'Thank kami you're safe Naruto' the old man thought as he smiled. His smile quickly turned into a determined grimace however when his thoughts took a slightly darker turn. ' I promise you Naruto, things will NOT be the same. I never moved against them in a major way before for fear of a civil war…but that won't happen now. I swear to you Naruto… the ones who have done this to you… they will pay. I don't ever want to see this happen again… though I wonder… will you ever be the same…'

As the Hokage finished his line of thought the young blonde turned over in his sleep and grasped the bunched up cloth of the bottom of the Hokage's robes like a pillow for comfort, thus causing a genuine smile to once again come over the old man's face.

"I promise you Naruto" he whispered so as not to wake the boy up. "Things will be different from now…"

(scene change)

Roughly three hours later a somber looking Hataki Kakashi knocked at the door of the Hokage's office. Hearing an affirmation from within, Kakashi entered and stood before the third hokage himself.

"I am sorry Hokage-sama… we have found no evidence of Uzumaki Naruto's presence. It is… believed… that he burned to death in the inferno of his housing complex and that his remains have also been reduced to nothing more than ashes…" Kakashi paused to express his regret at having not been there to save the boy but trashed that idea when he got a look at the hokage. It just didn't make sense to the ANBU member… The hokage cared for the boy and yet…upon hearing of his death he sat there and smiled off into nothing? After considering the facts and the kage's odd behavior Kakkshi spoke.

"Ummm, Hokage-sama…do you know something that the search and rescue teams do not?

"Hmmm?" said the hokage as he sat back in his chair smoking his pipe

" I asked if you know something I don't" replied the man in the wolf mask.

"Oh, yes… Naruto is not dead. He's actually in quite good care at the moment." Seeing the ANBU's incredulous look and the obvious line of questions just waiting to be asked, he cut him to the chase. "He's in my care Kakashi. He's sleeping right here underneath my desk. As for how he got here or when? I don't know. I only discovered him a few minutes after your last departure."

"Has he awoken at any point yet?" asked Kakashi.

Remaining silent for but a moment, the Sandaime replied in kind.

"No and to be perfectly honest I'm not even really sure I'd want him up yet. I still haven't decided what to do with all those involved… there's a substantial amount… and this time their intentions were quite obvious… not too mention all the damage they've caused, both to property and to Naruto. I don't know if he'll ever be the same carefree child again Kakashi. Who knows how he will turn out now? A human being can only take so much and…"

"As young as he is it's been even worse." Kakashi finished for the old man. "Yes, it's doubtful he will ever be able to truly love Konoha now. All we can do now is try to stem any more damage or attacks from occurring… But how will you do that Hokage-sama. We thought the law and prosecuting select individuals would be enough to turn aside many but now…"

"But now they seem as if nothing?" The Hokage grumbled. " Yes, I've noticed Kakshi-san. The trouble is… that for the longest time we've tolerated all sorts of abuse on the boy. We were afraid that too strong a reprisal would spark a civil war or worse. This whole time the peace of Konoha has been aid with the blood and suffering of a child. No more Kakashi … no more. We've allowed this to go on for far too long already. The villagers and rebellious nin have become too bold… You know what I want you and your squads to do…"

"Are any to be spared Hokage-sama" questioned the Anbu in a now stone-cold business manner. The old man was hesitant to answer and the ANBU had to prod him for a response. "Hokage-sama?"

"No Kakashi…this… has to be done."

"Hai Hokage-sama." Replied the ANBU. With that, he once again disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Whispering only to himself and the silent room the old man spoke once more.

"For the future…for Konoha…for him"

Well hello there every body. I bet you're still wondering what the whole T or H thing was neh? WELL GUESS WHAT! You find out next chapter. Seriously though, I thought I kinda said it wasn't pairing related. I got a bunch of vote for either Tenten, Temari, or Hinata, Jesus etc… ha hah a, I bet you guys will be surprised. Oh well. As to some negative comments about the length of the intro… well to answer you. YES this will be epic length. I've got BIG plans for Naruto and his world. Although, it will take awhile to get there and a lot will occur along the way. I always love reviews both negative and positive… 'hint hint' .

reposting Whoops! Sorry about the confusion. I put in scene breaks but for some odd reason they were removed in the data transfer grumbles oh well. I just did this really fast to fix this. Now, I've had time to read a couple a' reviews. My my my, aren't WE all out for a little vengeance? Hmmm, well, I'll say this. You won't see it first hand but it will be obvious when it's happening and I think you will find the after effect "enlightening" to those in the Naruto world… 'borrows thunfer and lgithning background from Warai's earlier evil laughter' HA HA HA HAH HA HAH HA….yeah….. time to go to class.

Well this is Madnarutofan signing of for now!


	8. Chapter 8

DISCLAIMER: …….. I do not own Naruto… if I did…

…

I'd use it to get free food from ninjaburger.

VISIT: enlightening ninja-tastic experience!

'never alone' ch.8

Finding himself once more in the dark caverns of his inner mind, Naruto realized he must've been asleep. Considering his options and the fact that he knew he was hidden underneath the old man's desk, he decided to use the opportunity to go see Warai again. After a short walk, he arrived at her cage and slipped through the bars once more, though 'slipped' might not have been the correct term in this text. The fact is, Naruto WALKED in between the bars this time.

'Strange' he thought. 'It looks like the whole thing changed to hold something else…I don't get it. What else could be in here with Warai? AND speaking of her where is she?'

Pausing in a moment of thought, Naruto raised a hand to scratch the back of his head.

'oh well' he thought. 'might as well…'

A second after, the tranquility of the now enormous chamber was shattered as Naruto bellowed his 'greeting' out.

"HEY WARAI! WHERE ARE YOU! I CAME TO SAY HI!"

Hearing a loud 'THUD' just to his left he turned and gasped. Right before him lay a giant, nine-tailed, fox figure…shaking in agony…in the fetal position…with…its paws over its ears?…and… tears coming from its closed eyes?…while making whimpering noises?

Sure it was an odd sight and all but what was Naruto's reaction after his initial gasp?

"AHHHHH, WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM GIANT FOX? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH WARAI?"

The Giant nine-tailed fox visibly cringed and whimpered once more before its eyes suddenly opened to reveal two huge pools of what looked like the very fire of hell itself. Quickly jumping on all fours the fox took an attack stance and unleashed its tails on the area behind while snarling.

"**WHERE THE HELL DID I COME FROM?" **the titanic demon roared. **"WHAT THE HELL? HAVE YOU COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN OUR CONVERSATION? YOU KNOW THE ONE ABOUT ME BEING THE FREAKING _KYUBI NO KITSUNE _AND BEING SEALED INSIDE OF YOU!" **

The towering she-demon paused to hear Naruto's amazing reply.

"Oh."

Demon eyes stared down blankly into their human counterparts

" **OH? OH? YOU COME IN HERE BELLOWING AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS RIGHT INTO MY FREAKING EARS _WHICH_ BY THE WAY ARE _THOUSANDS_ OF TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN YOUR HUMAN ONES AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS _OH_!"**

"So you _are_ Warai right?"

The Demon's face contorted into an unidentifiable mix of anger, confusion, and hopelessness before all its tails dropped limply down and its head sunk down beneath its shoulders.

'My gods' thought the she-demon. 'Is this what happens when a child is fed solely on ramen? I can guess what the new step to Naruto's 'training' is…' Coming out of her thoughts, the demoness deigned to answer Naruto's inherently stupid question.

"**Yes, Naruto it's me…"** she let out exasperatedly.

"Oh… hey then!" Naruto said in a normal greeting tone as he waved and smiled up at the nine-tailed fox.

"**Hello …Naruto-kun…"** replied the twitching giant. **"Listen, could you turn around for a moment while I transform into my human form?"**

"What? Umm why?" Naruto asked in genuine interest.

"**Because I doubt you want to see me naked and that's exactly what I'll be when I first transform. I'll tell you when I've summoned by clothing. Okay?"**

The demoness chuckled out in a hearty laugh as Naruto blushed deeply and then flew around with his hands on his face and his head pointed to the ground.

A few seconds later the change was complete.

"It's okay now Naruto-kun." The now human fox-woman stated.

"Are-are you sure?" stuttered out a still beet red Naruto

"I'm sure Naruto-kun." cooed Warai as she came in from behind him and gave him a small hug, thus eliciting an 'Eep!' from the young boy. "So what are you doing down here anyways? Did you make it to the Kage's tower and office yet? I haven't checked your memories or looked through your sight for awhile…"

"Yeah" replied the blonde. "I made it there all right but it was so tiring… I know what you mean now with the weak thing…It's a good thing too that I henged into a drunken bum. It was really hard and some of the chaka illusion messed up and looked like a burn mark on me. If they hadn't thought that I was a dirty homeless person they might have stopped to wonder why I was covered in soot and stuff. I guess I also kinda got lucky that no one found me in my hideaway while I was practicing at first. I think they only saw me when I actually came out…thank goodness. Anyways, by the time I got there I was so tired I almost felt like dropping. I was really worried for a moment when two nin came in. I had to hide under Ji-san's desk till they left.Actually, I'm still a little worried…"

Now weary of the facts at hand the fox woman questioned the boy. "Why?"

"well…you see…" he began while grinning and scratching the back of his head. "I kinda got comfortable down there and fell asleep underneath the desk…and…um…I think they're still right outside the door…"

Silence reigned in the chamber.

"WHAT?" shrieked the demoness. "What are you doing here then? Somebody could be there right now ready to kill you or something! Get out! GO! SHOO!" cried out the fox woman as she literally tossed Naruto over her shoulder, ran to the gates, and then lobbed him out…though for all her 'fear' she happened to have a smirk on her face.

As Naruto flew through the air and out of the cage he considered the possibility of Warai being right.

'yeah, right.' He snorted. 'she was just mad about the ear thing'.

Coincidentally, a certain fox-demon was thinking. 'Well, it could be true…they might've found him.'

Naruto hit the ground of far outside the cage and dissipated as he skid to a slow stop.

'Ouch. I guess I misgauged the distance…' thought Warai.

(SCENE CHANGE)

Slowly bringing his senses into focus Naruto realized five things:

One: He was still underneath the old man's desk.

Two: He was still okay.

Three: He now had a pillow

Four: The pillow was actually the end of someone's bunched up robes.

Five: The current 'pillow' was being worn by someone that happened to be sitting right in front of. A person, that he could tell was now aware of his consciousness, and probably was there to kill him.

With this is mind, and no other logic evident to him other than Warai's previous prophesy of doom, he did what came up first in his list of things to do as a last act of defiance. He let loose his battle cry and attacked….

…with his teeth.

(PERSPECTIVE CHANGE)

The old man had been there still smoking his pipe and thinking about the future of Konoha when all of a sudden Naruto began to stir. Laying his pipe down, he adjusted himself to his desk so that when Naruto emerged he would see his face and know it was okay. He remained there waiting for Naruto to gather his wits and come out, but Naruto didn't move. Instead, he just kept still. Realizing that Naruto couldn't tell who he was just by his robes and the fact that he was probably very shaken up, he began to move down to make contact and soothe the child. Naruto, however, apparently had other plans.

"ARRGHHH, YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!"

…and with that, he wrapped his little arms around the old man's leg and sunk his nice, big, shiny set of teeth firmly into the lower calf of the third hokage of Konoha, drawing blood…

The old man had his own cry, though it wasn't for battle…more like horror, and let it screech out.

"AHHHHHH! GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!"

(PERSPECTIVE CHANGE)

Grinding his teeth into the enemy, Naruto realized he had drawn blood and he smiled. At least he would go down having done that much damage. He was sad though, he'd just met Warai really and it would've been nice to get to know her more…to learn new things…it just wasn't fair… he'd just made his first friend and now?

His thoughts were cut off as the enemy began sweeping his leg back and forth under the desk trying to knock him off on either of the sides that housed cabinets. His head bounced against the sides and made him feel dizzy but then he would only bite back down with renewed vigor.

If the bastard thought he was going to get rid of him that easily he had another think coming all right! Uzumaki Naruto was NOT going to go down THAT easily at all!

"TAKE THIS" he yelled

(PERSPECTIVE CHANGE)

He had tried to cry out against Naruto, to stop him non-violently, but the child just bit down so damn hard and he couldn't even stutter anything out! IT HURT LIKE HELL ON HIS OLD BONES AND FLESH!

'I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but I'm sure you'll forgive me later for this…' thought the hokage as he took up a new tactic and began to knock the blonde against one side of the desk and then the other. 'It's working!' thought the thankful hokage. But then something went wrong. The child dug in with even more force than before. 'DAMN IT NARUTO!' screamed the old man inside his head. He then rammed the child even harder but once again it only resulted in increased force on his own body.

And then…for a split second…he could feel it… the dull throbbing ache that only THAT organ can produce when prophesizing its own injury…

"TAKE THIS!" roared the child.

'No' he thought in fear. 'He wouldn't…'

His thoughts betrayed him however and he was caught wholly unprepared when Naruto flipped his own lower torso and legs out from underneath the desk and then lauched his heel into the most precious and protected area of a man…and all while sinking his nails and teeth even deeper into his calf's flesh.

(PERSPECTIVE CHANGE)

'SUCCESS' thought Naruto gleefully as his blow landed at the man's 'core' and all his enemy's movement halted to a dead stop. Quickly releasing all of his holds he fell to the floor and hurried to stand and run out of the office in hopes of finding other cover to wait out for the old man. His progress was quickly halted however when he felt an iron grip at the back of his neck…

"I DON'T THINK SO!" yelled the voice of his assailent.

Naruto barely had time to register an 'oh' let alone a 'shit' before he was flung backwards through the air towards the plushy chair at the desk

(PERSPECTIVE CHANGE)

As the blow landed many thoughts passed through the mind of Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha. Among them were KILL, DESTROY, MAIM, and VENGEANCE! The others, the ones that prevented the death of the sealed child, were PROTECT, DUTY, LOVE, COMPASSION, and KILL SOMEONE ELSE LATER! The tug of war had been close, but the mental promise of physical release on another individual had finally won out on the side of life.

The boy however….he was running the hell out of the room already…

'I…I..' stuttered the still furious hokage in thought. 'D-Didn't go t-through all that j-just to have him r-run away…no…NO..'

"I DON'T THINK SO!" he roared as he dashed with his blinding speed and grasped the back of Naruto's jacket only to hurl him up, over, out , and at the chair he had previously been relaxing in.

'ENOUGH!' thought the old man. 'JUST STAY THE HELL DOWN FOR A MOMENT!...please…'

Panting as the full measure of Naruto's attack came to bear, he could already feel the swelling and an urge to puke rise. Out of necessity however, he kept it down. Keeping his distance from Naruto though, he hoped he would come to his senses…he didn't know if he could take another tussle like that with the boy and NOT kill him…

(PERSPECTIVE CHANGE)

"OOOOOMPHHH"

Was the sound that flooded out of young Naruto's lungs and mouth as his small body collided with the chair. A moment later, his small, beaten, and upside down form slid down into the crook of the seat.

'oOoOh' thought the boy as his senses tried to pry each other apart from the swirling sensation that had become his consciousness. When they finally HAD settled down Naruto remained in his slouched form with his eyes closed. 'I guess this is it. Oh well, at least I got him REAL good…' mentally snickered the boy as he listened to the ragged wheezes of his supposed enemy. 'I guess I should at least get a look at who's going to do me in… If…if I'm going out damn it I'm at least going to face it proudly…'

With that, he slowly opened his eyes and observed the figure of his opponent at the opposite end of the room. In a single moment he realized how wrong he had been…and er eh…what he had done…

Tears quickly began to pool in his eyes and drip down his face…

"'J..J..JI-SAN!" cried Naruto as he flung himself out of the chair and at the old man nearly as fast as he himself had been sent to the chair.

The old man felt the impact of a small body against his own reeling form along with the sensation of small arms wrapping tightly around his body. Slowly, the old man knelt down to embrace the child in his arms. The boy quickly moved his arms to latch around the old man's shoulders and it was only a matter of time before the third hokage could feel his robe becoming drenched in tears…

"Naruto…" the old man whispered out, almost cracking up himself at the sight of the boy's fear and tears…

"Ji-san…Ji-san" the little boy cried out over and over again as all the recently events passed through his mind.

All the fear, the hate, the danger, the destruction…

He cried it all out on the old man's shoulder.

Eventually, though, he settled down and actually began to engage in conversation with the old man hokage…

"Are you okay Naruto-kun? Are you injured anywhere?" asked the old man with worry apparent in his voice.

"N-no…I…I am okay…They…they… never even got a-a hold of me. I…I was able to hide while they….." Naruto trailed off as the images of murderous mobs and sharpened weapons danced through his head.

The old man knew it would be hard for Naruto to recount the recent events. He knew they were now probably some of the most traumatic yet…but…he had to know, as someone that cared AND as the hokage….

"Naruto-kun" the old man began gently. "What happened while I was gone?" As soon as the question was out he could feel boy shudder. "Please, Naruto… I know it's hard but I have to know…"

Naruto remained still in thought for a moment before he answered.

'Yeah…a lot has happened… I wonder though… should I tell him the truth about Warai and the Kyubi no Kitsune? Would he even listen or would he wig out… He never bothered to tell me before…and…he let all that crap happen to me… BUT I know for a fact he felt bad about it and all…I just don't know…maybe…maybe later I'll tell him…but for now…he gets the 'amended' version…'

Forcing his spirits to raise to the point where he could at least speak normally, Naruto answered.

"A lot has happened…Ji-san…" Naruto stopped momentarily to break the embrace with the old man and move back some. Turning his back to the old man, he brought his arms up and used them to hug himself while in thought. "When you left…you told me to stay in…but …I…didn't."

'Naruto…this is why I didn't want you outside… I knew seeing you out alone without me in the village would be a bad thing…They were just waiting for such an opportunity…' thought the wizened old man.

"It's a good thing too…" Naruto added right before he turned around to make eye contact with the Hokage. "If I hadn't, I'd be dead right now."

"What?" gasped the Hokage. 'I don't understand…'

"I went out into Konoha… roaming the back alleys and all…you know I can't go out into the main throughways without…well…unpleasant things happening to me…" the third grimaced for a moment before Naruto continued.

"Anyways, I happened to pass by a certain shop when I was… detained…anyways, I woke up a little while later and tried to get home to my complex…" A flash of visible anger rushed out over Naruto's features and the old man had a siking feeling in his gut. "When I got there… they were waiting for me. I think they were expecting me to already be there when they rushed in…"

'Damn…I was right…I thought there might've been a leak in my office chunin, I guess I'll just have to have Kakashi look into that later as well.' Thought the enraged Hoakge.

"…so…" went on Naruto. " I hid behind some garbage and stuff before they knew I was there…I…I had to sit there and watch as they burned it all Ji-san…everything…they wanted to kill me…and destroy everything I've ever touched…everything I ever was…please Ji-san…" Naruto once again broke down into tears as he stared into the old man's eyes. " Please…help me…I… I don't want to …I… I'm afraid…Please…"

Naruto couldn't even stutter out his plea but the old man knew what he wanted.

He wanted to know that he was safe for once…

That he wouldn't be sent out into that alone again…

That it wouldn't ever happen again…

The old man moved towards the scared child and hugged him once more.

"I swear to you Naruto… As long as I breathe, I will not allow anything like this to ever happen to you again…"

"So…so…they…they aren't coming back again?" Asked a hopeful Naruto.

"No…Naruto-kun… they aren't coming back…ever…trust me." He continued in thought in his head. ' and as for the others in the village…I'm going to make damn well sure that this time the _point_ gets across.'

They remained that way in each other's embrace as Naruto slowly began to fall asleep once again, though this time, he wasn't afraid. He was, in fact, just about to drift off completely when a loud 'POOF'sound erupted into the air and a figure emerged from the smoke. Naruto tensed at first but seeing that the old man wasn't afraid he began to relax some. Upon further inspection he saw that the new individual was none other than the Wolf-masked ANBU he'd been thinking about sometime earlier.He also noticed there was no small amount of blood on his person. His thought were broken though by the voice of the Sandaime Hokage.

"Is it done Kakashi?"

"yes…hokage-same." Replied the man in a wolf mask.

"How many were there and of what status were they?" asked the old man in a now grave tone.

"I'd say about fifty to sixty. Among them were several elder Genin, some mid level Chunin, and one Jounin."

"Resistance?"

"Some. The nin put up a fight, but were easily put down. The villagers though…they ran quite a bit once they realized what was happening. For the most part though, it wasn't difficult. They happened to be regrouping near the initial site…and…" Kakashi slowed down to a halt in speech as he realized what he was about to debrief in front of an already traumatized child.

"Hmmm, do you wish for me to …continue…this debriefing later Hokage-sama?"

Looking down the child in his arms the old man answered.

"Yes, yes, very well Kakashi-san. We will continue this at a later date…for now though… I have to ask two more things of you. The first is to exe…er…'interrogate' any suspicious chunin that work here in the tower and could've possibly revealed my leave to the masses… as you know., that information was supposed to have been kept in secret… After that though…I was wondering if you could take care of Naruto-kun here for awhile…until… things settle down. I've arranged for another apartment for him. Here are the keys and information."

As Kakashi simply nodded his head with a "Hai Hokage-sama" the keys and information were handed over by the old man.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun." Said Kakashi. " Things have been dealt with. Things might be rough for awhile, but then things will smooth down and they'll be better than ever for you." 'though that's not saying much' thought Kakshi.

Warai's words of warning flashed through Naruto's mind. 'bad blood' 'danger' 'protection'

Standing up, the Hokage brought Naruto with him and began to make his way towards the door as Kakashi followed. The old man had just opened the door and was turning around to reassure Naruto and thank Kakashi when a voice cut him off.

"You're wrong…both of you."

Turning around, both were shocked to find the normally vibrant blue pools of Naruto's eyes turned into frigid lakes of ice.

'no...' thought the old man. ' I was too late… He is changed… I'm sorry Naruto…'

'I was right…' thought Kakashi. 'He is changed. Even his heart couldn't take on all of this and not be changed… I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did.'

"Even if you killed or arrested everyone that attacked me…" he began, not noticing the look of surprise at his assumed awareness on the faces of the two older men. " Things will never smooth out… they aren't ever going to be that great. The best I can look forward to in the short run is them just ignoring me or just the stares." The others were about to say something about his prior statement regarding the executions when he continued. "I honestly don't know what you've really done to them…I doubt anything much at all…but there's only going to be one way I'm ever really going to feel safe in this place from now on ." 'time to tweak it' thought Naruto. "There's only one way I can keep this palce as home in my heart… and that" he stopped momentarily as the two others held their breath. "Is for me to become stronger…to learn how to defend myself. I.. I know I'm just a kid…I'm seven… but they're out there…and they want to hurt me. I don't know why…" 'Well, actually, Warai told me…'he thought. "…but I only feel it's going to get worse down the road …what's ahead of me. I need to become stronger now for then… I need to learn how to protect myself. So…please… Hokage-sama…"

'He's dead serious' the other two thought at the same time knowing the boy.

"…please help me to become stronger. I know you're busy… I know you don't have time to train me yourself but please help with this… Just help me find someone to train me at least… I don't expect them to train me to be at your level or anything insane like that…I just want to learn the basics… to take my first steps on the road to my dream…to be able to stand up for MYSELF without having to worry about having protection around me always…"

The old man and the ANBU were silent for a few moments considering their own personal thoughts. Both came to the conclusion that they had been unfortunately correct in their assumption that Naruto's affection for Konoha would be tenuous at best. The Hokage, however, in considering Naruto's request, also realized the truth in the boy's argument. Indeed his life would be one filled with pain and struggle… It was also his own personal opportunity to atone somewhat for his past deeds…or rather, lack thereof.

He agreed.

"Okay Naruto-kun. If this is what it takes to give you the confidence and security you seek…I shall find instruction for you. "

Naruto was now grinning from ear to ear, happy that Warai's plan had been put into place and that the beginning of his trip to the Hokage's seat had begun. The old man, however, only knew that the child was rejoicing. Seeing the brilliance return to Naruto's eyes assured him of his judgment's correctness. Now as for Kakashi…he had already seen twice what advanced training had done to other children. Himself the wolf, and the other the weasel… He was … to say the least… not as enthused. The Hokage could tell as much from where he stood.

"Hokage-sa-" Kakashi began to argue.

"Silence Kakashi-san." The old man interrupted with a stern voice and motioned for him to come near so that Naruto wouldn't hear.. "It's true Naruto-kun here is very young, but he has valid points. There's no point in denying the truth about people's treatment of him any longer OR what his destiny is likely to hold. Also, giving him basic nin training will only raise him to the level that many of the clan youth are at prior to entrance into the Academy. More importantly, it will boost his confidence. I'm sure this is the right choice."

"Hai…Hokage-sama." Kakashi resigned dejectedly as he moved back to collect the child. "Come on Naruto. Let's go get you settled in, I'm sure the Hokage here has things to do… another of which is now to find you a _suitable _instructor. Let's go."

With that Kakshi stepped out of the office.

"Okay." The young boy chirped back, somewhat glad to be leaving the confines of the office. Turning around before exiting Naruto called back to the old man. " Hey Ji-san?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" the old man replied back.

"I would really, really like to have someone good teach me the basics of swordsmanship. Preferably, someone well versed in the katana and its 'applications'…soooooo, if you could do that I'd be ultra-thankful!"

"Okay, Naruto-kun… I'll see what I can do… but if you're trying to get some special training like that it might only be for a short time. Skilled weapon masters are hard to come by and are usually rather busy…but I promise you I'll do my best…"

"Okay, as long as they're strong and can teach me well! THANKS AGAIN OLD MAN!" Naruto spoke and then yelled as he ran out

'Naruto…' the old man thought as he chuckled. ' Okay…now as to whom I have who can teach you what you'd like… Hmmm, I know I said just the basics, but to be perfectly honest I'd like you to have the BEST basics…something tells me you'll need it… Now that leads me to the best of Konoha's blade masters…'

The old man stopped to reach down and pull some files out from a drawer in his desk.

'Hmmm, I guess we better update these files…I know for a fact that my student isn't coming back anytime soon and that's been confirmed for years…I guess some Chunin data specialists have been slacking off. Maybe I'll have Kakashi deal with that too? No…no, can't go to the absolute option EVERY time, can we? Oh well…Now as to the other two possibilities… I don't know… one's relatively young, but highly skilled. The other is older and more experienced with nearly equal skill…hmmm… I guess it comes down to who's on a mission and who's not. Let's see…'

The Sandaime Hokage pulled yet another set of files from his desk.

'So… **_H_**ayate is out on a long term surveillance mission is Wind country….rough… the winds there can tear your lungs up what with all the sand and if you don't know how to protect yourself…I guess that leaves…him…'

"So" the Hokage announced to himself. " Ikegata **_T_**omo it is…"

'Hmmm, doesn't he have a child?' pondered the old man. 'Oh yes,yes, I remember now, a nice little girl…but what was her name again….hmmmm.'

'Ah I have it now!' elated the hokage.

"It's Tenten, her name is Tenten."

(END CHAPTER) /

WOOHOO, another chapter bites the dust! Well, I can honestly say that I feel kinda saddened with myself in this chapter. I tried to include a humorous scene intermixed with the serious stuff but I don' think it flew off too well. Jeez, you know something has occurred to me? I am way too damn descriptive in my mind. If I keep this up I'll be updating at the same speed as the manga progresses and even then I'll be behind by like ….oh ..lets see…. 278 chapters or so! Which means I ought to finish my fic ….about three or four years after the manga ends!

O-O'

BAH! I HAVE TO REFINE MY WRITING PROCESS OR MY FIC IS DOOMED!

WOE IS ME! WOE IS ME! WOE IS ME!

…

okay enough of that. Anyways, Get a load of my T or H thing guys and gals! If you couldn't figure it out before, the T or H actually stood for Ikegata Tomo or Gekkou Hayate. Now, now, listen. As far as Tenten's surname goes… I don't know where this came from. It's somewhere in the back of my subconscious and I FRIGGIN KNOW I got it from somewhere, but for the life of me I can't remember…'hits self with spatula' damn it. Anyways…thanks for all the support and reviews. It's a real kick to reach the 100+ mark with reviews. I'm hoping someday to top a 1,000. Oh well… dreams..

And now, for some speculation…

I'm just curious what you guys think I'm going to do with this little character interaction? Granted, I've already got the whole thing planned out… but for those of you who remember how they got along in ch.1 …..I think things will prove to be interesting… 'Thunder and lightning in background' BWA HA HA HAH ! BWA HA HA HA HAH!

Yeah.

I guess this is the madnarutofan signing off.

PEACE!


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